I've watched single-issue polls among Democratic voters for decades. When voting on whether they approve of issues separately, every stance Bernie has taken has been overwhelmingly favored by the Democratic party.Universal single-payer insurance, a more progressive tax code & taxes on the rich, free state-supported college, student debt forgiveness, trade unions, restoration of the Voting Rights Act, ending big money in politics, Rule of Law,etc., they all are only Bernie Sanders values.
Bernie was catching Hillary in 2016 when the entire Democratic establishment, the DLC, and the anti-democratic Superdelegate system that had given her over 500 votes before Bernie even entered the competition spent more time making sure that somebody with traditional Democratic grassroots values didn't overturn the apple cart they had built starting in 1992, conspired to assure Hillary would be the anointed nominee (how'd that work out for you guys?). Now, again, 4 years later, the same forces have allied & so-called moderate Democrats, who believe in small-scale solutions to large-scale problems, once again turned on him.
This year, Bernie became understandably embittered, as did his supporters like me. 20% of Bernie supporters voted for Trump in 2016 as the only hand grenade left to unseat the establishment. He turned out to be a nuclear bomb. But the Dem establishment is still in place & many Bernie supporters are going to remain on the bench. 15% say they will vote for Trump again.
2
I think its very important to assess both candidates at their core, even before we evaluate both their policies, it is necessary to take a closer look at their values. Bernie is no perfectionist, certainly has flaws but shunning PACs and corporate money is at least a good basis to earn the trust of people. This is not the case for Biden. He'll certainly be beholden to the wealthy companies and individuals that's showered his campaign with contributions.
1
I'm behemothly disheartened that Senator Sanders withdrew from the race for the Democratic nominee for president, because Bernie's agenda was the most F.D.R.-like of anyone running for president since President Roosevelt! No one spoke out about income inequality, livable wage paying jobs, bringing back MADE IN THE USA, or union labor (amongst many other middle-class issues), like Bernie did since F.D.R.! The lousy N.A.F.T.A. (Clinton), and Obama's T.P.P. treaty, joined forces with G.W.Bush's outsourcing of our strong manufacturing base in 2008, to wreak havoc on the American middle-class. It makes me mad that so many people over the age of 50 (who benefited from our strong middle-class, prior to those three presidents), didn't realize (or care), that Bernie spoke more about those issues than anyone else who has run for president since Roosevelt!
Bernie's campaign committee also gets some of the blame for not expressing that more in his campaign messages.
Why much of America chose to rally behind a center-left Democrat, when he's going to be running against a far-right Republican party, makes little sense to me! I can only hope and pray that Biden will become more left than Obama and Clinton were, because being center-right may have helped Trump win in 2016, but since then he's been little to no good for the working-class, and being center-left won't be good enough to win in 2020!!!!!
2
Mr. Sanders thought we had brains and self respect. Those folks who said his policies would cost too much are now standing in line for handouts 100 times what Mr. Sanders's programs would have cost.
2
He misjudged America. Bernie is a good man. America is good people. But it's clear that Bernie did not major in math and natural science. If he had, he would know that the numbers do not add up to universally insure, never mind actually treat, all Americans. There are moral, societal, legal issues to resolve way before the country can even crunch the numbers on how to pay for a nation of diabetics, obesity, substance dependence, prescription drug dependence, medical care by demand and not need, and so on. The US is facing a massive wall of cultural and societal changes, it must resolve because without their resolution nothing sustainable can be created. Bernie is ahead of his time in some things, in other things he's just another dreamer of his hippy generation.
3
Good stuff. Thanks. And let’s not forget the very first step before we can address those finer points.
Getting the malignancy out of our (otherwise) fair and (it would be nice) reasonable democracy! It is foul beyond words.
We don't deserve Bernie, period.
5
@me
We can not sustain his ideas. Europe can't either, as the current and eternal bickering about who pays the bill proves.
I am encouraged by the last two paragraphs. If Bernie really, meaningfully teams up with Biden and helps reach Latinos and young voters, he can also help fashion the kind of policies that we need right now to represent and help the working class. (Sorry Bernie, focus on Americans and restoring DACA, not giving free benefits to people here illegally! That's a sure vote-killer for most of the country.)
A united Democratic party would not lose in November. But no repeats, please, of the half-measures that sunk Hillary in 2016. Since Bernie genuinely likes and respects Joe, he will hopefully influence his agenda and advise his administration. To borrow from the nasty woman herself: "Stronger Together." Let's hope for the sake of the country, that happens.
3
@Joan v.
Worst case scenario is that he can reach everyone. Now comes the problem, he has to deliver. From the resources of his target audience he can not pay for his plans.
"If you don't win, It don't matter".
I believe that Bernie would lose the election. If he does not win in November, it would not matter how great his vision is for the country. Trump would have four more years.
2
@Michael Johnson and I believe Biden will lose and I will never vote for him. The slimy tactics back room deals and media smear campaigns has shown me the Democratic Party is shallow and just as corrupt as the Republicans. They don’t want a modern healthcare system because the donor class profits off of American suffering. Biden is already bought by war profiteers and Wall Street. Just like Trump. The party in its hubris has forced upon democratic voters the only candidate that can make Trump look competent. If you don to know what I mean just look at Bidens media appearances this week. The interviewers coddle him, but you honestly cannot say this man can handle the presidency. I will never vote for Trump but I will not support someone who stands for literally nothing I support. The panic from the establishment and the stop Bernie at all costs has yet to reveal what that true price is. The division that comes from the DNC plotting against progressives will not be forgotten. Nor should it be they are quite proud of their betrayal and democrats gloat with glee that Americans still won’t get affordable healthcare.The constant bragging and value shaming from those in the media like Maddow Clyburn, Clinton, and the most vile Jennifer Rubin has cemented in me the need for the DNC elites to never get power again.MLK warned about the white moderates on the left, “they are more dangerous because they will stab you in the back”. They proved it. I will not reward it.
6
@Rexblade I was already an undecided fence-straddler before I read your post, and to my dismay you've made it worse. It's not your fault; don't get me wrong. It's just that your description of the actual breadth and depth of the Democratic party's many failings was an unexpected and unwelcome eye-opener. Registered Indepdent, I was a reluctant Republican in 2016, but was planning to finanically support the Democratic Party candidate in 2020, in addition to voting for her or him. But how can I, as I find I agree with virtually every point you've made? If you - that is, we - can't vote for Trump, and can't vote for an establishment-supported Democratic candidate, what do you recommend we do in 2020? You were so very clear about what you would not do this election cycle that you left off explaining what will do in 2020. If your tacit message is to sit out the 2020 election, I think I can live with that. If voting becomes complicated and/or likely to lead to vote counting sagas that make the 2000 election look like a cake-walk, sitting this one out might be the saneist decision. Might penalize down ticket races but they'd probably be establishment Democrats or wacky Republicans, so no harm done. I feel better already.
1
@Martha "Sitting it out" and "Voting for Trump to penalize the DNC" are in the grand old schoolyard spirit of, "If I can't play quarterback, I'm going home." Instead of stomping off pouting, work with the team to try to pull the game in your direction
4
That's Bernie's problem in a nutshell. He believes he is "taking on" everyone, instead of trying to recruit everyone, mobilize everyone, rally everyone. He vilifies billionaires & corporations instead of trying to bring them onto his side. There are some, like Tom Steyer, and others who agree with most of Bernie's ideas. Bernie needed to be a real leader not just another politician playing the blame game. A real leader would try to get big business to realize they would benefit from a healthier more economically sound middle class. He has a chance now to lead, by rallying all of his supporters to vote for Biden.
7
@gjr22 a side note: I voted for Bernie in the Primaries and I believe his ideas would greatly benefit America and the world. I just think, unfortunately, he's the wrong messenger.
1
@gjr22 sadly he was the only messenger this party doesn’t want progressives it wants corruption.
3
@gjr22 Wha?? "recruit everyone, mobilize everyone, rally everyone" is EXACTLY what Bernie is doing.
Reading over the various comments by readers confirms that "we all see what we want to see" and therefore there are at least 2 different visions we have of Bernie. For me, the position he takes on various issues, speak for themselves. We as a country are no stronger than our weakest links, so why wouldn't we want to take positive actions to strengthen all of us? And consider the positive impact that would make on our economy; if student loans were paid for and health care available to all, wouldn't that alone free cash to be spent on developing new businesses, ideas? That is probably why so many candidates have picked up the concepts Bernie has championed for so long. But for me, the real difference between Bernie and all others is integrity - and this is my gut intuition. Bernie would actually fight to assure that the promises he has made are kept. The others - well, not so much.
Bernie is the major true leader who has steered the other candidates and so many of us towards his ideas of what will make America great. And he has adopted these platforms by listening to the people. This is what a leader does.
8
As long as "Medicare for All" is considered a dangerous communist idea that will bankrupt the US Bernie's campaign was doomed. No better stick with the old uninspiring, tried and true i.e. Biden. Perhaps a very modest improvement over the present incompetent criminal feudal gang of grifters and crooks which occupies the WH at this time. But not very much.
7
Today's Times raises the question "...what kind of message, exactly, would make voters rethink their support for the most loyal ally of the first black president?" And goes on to diagnose Sanders "failure" to attack Biden, undermining his Black support.
What short memories!! Obama himself did not support Biden--"his most loyal ally"; he supported Clinton--and thus Clintons.
He turned a blind eye to her/their sidling up to Goldman Sachs and the oligarchs. Obama called Sanders "comrade"--thereby sidling up to the very same oligarchs.
But even so--despite Obama's conservatism--phobia--regarding big much needed change--including attacking the corrupt GOP and Bush--Obama did not think Biden was up to the job--despite loyalty and the rest of it.
Maybe Obama thought/thinks Biden Sleepy Joe! What a dreadful quicksand the Dems are sinking in.
7
It's starting to look like, not only "will the Revolution not be on TV", but it may not be on these "Times", nor in "these 'Times' they aren't a changin" yet, eh?
4
@Alan MacDonald
As Chauncey, the gardener, [Peter Sellers] said in "Being There" --- "If the roots are not damaged, it will grow in the spring" --- and now in "these 'Times' they ARE a changin" and at the "Times" we are seeing the 'growth in the "Spring-time", not of Hitler, but of "Our Revolution", and of "Us not me", as President Bernie says.
'We the American people' this Second time do not need a General like Washington to bring the flower of real democratic socialism to bloom --- because this is not a violent "Revolution Against Empire", but a people's peaceful and complete "Political/economic & social Revolution Against Empire", which not only Bernie in 2020, but former presidents like; FDR, JFK, poet philosopher McCarthy, and the recent First Black President could have brought to bloom in earlier springs if the political weather was warmer and more favorable for the growth of real democracy.
3
The 'Invisible Elephant' in the room at the 2020 election/selection/Revolution is Empire.
When we talk about a “crony-capitalist ‘Empire' to enrich only a few people, leaving many Americans poorer than they were 30 years ago” — what we, and Bernie, should really be talking about — particularly Bernie should be shouting-out, and ‘Revolting Against’ in his campaign, is that a Disguised Global “Crony Capitalist” Empire, which is only nominally HQed in, and merely ‘posing’ as, our formerly “promising”, and sometimes progressive country (PKA) America, where we could easily fire a; loud, public, sustained, ‘in-the-streets’, but totally non-violent “SHOUT (not shot) heard round the world” to ignite a Second American people’s peaceful and complete “Political/economic & social Revolution Against Empire” to lead the world in democracy as our first one did in ‘76 — but without the muskets.
There are only two choices in this 'globalized world', either 'global democracy' or 'Global Empire' — and without a new peaceful “Revolution Against Empire” we’re on the path to allowing this Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire to “roll on under the night” as an Empire rather than a democracy for all ‘we the American people’ and all citizens of our shared world.
Only America can do this new peaceful Revolution, and only Bernie can lead “Our Revolution” to Dump Emperor Trump --- as we need to:
GET ‘WOKE’ &
‘FOLK’ THE
EMPIRE
by this I mean 'Folk' as the need to get lots of folks engaged
4
Americans are a lot smarter than the NY Times thinks they are. Americans saw through the false promises of socialism/communism. Americans don't want to be the next Cuba or Venezuela. Simple. Case closed.
2
But maybe smart Americans want us to be more like Sweden or Norway or other progressive socialist countries whose citizens are healthier, happier and better educated than we in America.
10
https://tdmsresearch.com/ this research institution shows scientific based data indicating electronic vote flipping going against Sanders.
3
For me to vote for Push Up Asthma Joe Biden as a Veteran will be hard . Biden had 6 deferments then claimed childhood asthma to avoid the draft ,at the same time playing football and a life guard He never fails to bring up his dead wife killed by a drunk driver , the truth is the driver was not drunk and it was her own fault . Then we have Biden yes vote of N.A.F.T.A. were Ross Perot was correct and the great sucking sound of jobs leaving this country . Then we have Biden yes vote on the Iraq war , No WMD . Then we have Anita Hill hearings. His son million dollar job using dad as a reference . Jesse Jackson was correct 'Obama picked Joe to balance out the ticket . he needed someone who was incompetent .
4
Hate to say it folks, but the race was never Sanders to win. It was always Biden’s to lose. And he didn’t. All the punditry, all the media, all the pollsters were but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It was a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
1
Now that Biden has taken over Bernie and Liz’s campaign promises I guess I will have to think again. Free school for the wealthy and bankruptcy after graduation are not my ideas of a responsible citizen.
You let the press off the hook way too easily. Corporate media constantly stoked the fear and misconceptions of the word “socialist” and failed entirely to make any distinction between socialism and democratic socialism. En masse, they consistently portrayed Sanders as an ineffectual radical when in fact we is more a kin to a New Deal Democrat. He would only be considered a radical in a rightwing pluetocracy.
8
Neither. He wasn’t misjudged nor did he misjudge America. Sen. Sanders was never to get the nomination. The country clearly would not have. On the other hand, Sanders has given voice to American families who’re still suffering from the feeble economic, social and political recovery from the 2008 Great Recession looting - as demonstrated by the light shining on the economy as the result of the Coronavirus crash.
The only winners are the Michael Bloombergs of the country, who, somehow managed to increase their fortunes exponentially during this time. How? Some say that these people are smart investors. Really? The just pardoned Michael Milken made his fortune cheating. The Sacklers made their fortune selling poison that killed 800K Americans through the sale of OxyContin. And on and on... that said, does Michael BLoomberg really think he could get elected for anything? $900M later, he knows the answer. Once the plague subsides, the country will demand justice for those who got the country to this point: an economy is tatters; our government institutions destroyed ; our social fabric in pieces. Sen. Sanders contribution was to give a voice to the voiceless The media has been and is complicit. Just look at the coverage of this plague and the pass they’re giving Trump.
7
I am from The South and have family members who are African American Democrats over 50. Many of them don't even own a cell phone and even more have never operated a computer. So they are very vulnearable to a lack of information, and they often vote for nostalgia and sentiment. Bernie's prime constituancy are folks under 40, and/or folks like me, who at 70, still live eith and as someone under 40 lives. This whole "thing" about African Americans and Bernie is just another fabrication, one that it VERY old. Once the election moves out ot The South, Bernie's numbers with Africxan Americans are about the same as with most other communities. Latinos (other than Cubans) deeply resonate with his message because they all fled countries run with rampant abusive capitalism. Most Anglos don't know, but more Mexicans are returning to Mexico than are coming here. THAT'S how bad the economy is here for working people.
2
The American people were NEVER, EVER going to turn this country over to a 78 year old Socialist Revolutionary Curmudgeon who no one likes or will work with, and, has not accomplished anything of significance in 40 years of public life.
Sanders is not now, nor has he ever been a Democrat. All he is doing at present is helping Trump.
2
They're (the large majority of American voters including democrats) just no into you, Bernie. You are dismissing everyone who doesn't want you as president as the enemy. Go back to the Senate and do your job. Help the Congress make this federal government do its job.
2
Radical??
Healthcare as a human right, radical??
Public education, radical??
Care for homeless veterans, radical??
Correcting the inherent cruelty of Capitalism, radical??
Speaking truth to power, radical??
Correcting massive inequality, radical??
What is radical are journalists and Democratic Establishment promoting more of what has not worked for the working class of America.
What is radical is allowing children to go hungry and without care.
What is radical is having to bring in specialists in medicine and technology from foreign countries because we do not educate our own talented youth.
What is radical is wanting to reduce benefits for social programs already in place and barely adequate if at all.
What is radical is bigotry against certain classes of our population.
11
Sanders is not radical if you don't believe it's radical that all people should have reasonable healthcare and their children have a shot at college. Reagan raged against LBJ's Medicare as a dangerous radical socialism yet today even reactionary republicans assume Medicare is an untouchable good for our society. Our country has been taken over by extremist libertarians via the republican party and the U.S seems ripe for a Mussolini strongman government. Their propagandist outlets inflame xenophobia, racism and stir up a divisive, toxic mix of blame and vitriol. Recklessly calling a humane politician like Sanders a radical does the country no good.
5
Bernie misjudged America. On top of that he seems not to understand the regressive Republicans. The tweeter-in-chief has his own political party fashioned after the thinking of Putin, MSB or some other oligarch he admires at the time.
Warren should have stuck with being herself. She is much more realistic and a true fighter for fairness. Her ideas are normally well thought out but when she decided to play tag with Bernie she blew it.
I hope we elect Biden but if we don't replace Moscow Mitch and his henchmen fairness in health care and many other things will continue to be out of the average person's grasp as the pharmaceuticals and all the lobbyists continue to buy their way through Congress, Bernie needs to work on that....including the NRA, the people who don't believe in climate change etc. etc. that get into power.
Bernie, please drop out.
Enough is enough!
1
I am a poll worker in a very white suburban neighborhood. In the Michigan primary our precinct had African American voters I'd never seen before. How many under-21 voters? Seven. Why Biden beat Bernie.
4
2020 is not so much an election, and fortunately not another ‘selection’, but rather “Our Revolution” Against Empire.
It is clear to leading authors, public intellectuals, academics, and expanding study of political, economic, and social science focus on 21st century research into this novel virus/disease of a pandemic Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire — that things in America and among super ‘WOKE’ American millennials have opened-up a new inflection point in America, Hong Kong, EU, and all young thinkers which is now spreading an awareness that, as the young JFK said earlier:
“We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world” --- and which now in this 21st century fired a; loud, public, sustained, 'in-the-streets', but non-violent “SHOUT (not shot) heard round the world” again in order to ignite a Second American people’s peaceful and complete “Political/economic & social(ist) Revolution Against Empire” to lead the world in democracy as our first one did in ‘76 — but without the muskets.
“We can't be an EMPIRE”
2
Sanders and Warren have fallen by the wayside........Americans have steadily rejected Clinton. Trump, surprisingly, seems to be a true leader during this COVI19 outbreak, further compounding the Left's inability to garner traction for control of the White House in the next election.
Sanders, former welfare recipient, who never held employment until he was in his late thirties, is going down a path with zero probability of ensnaring the presidency of this country.
Bernie personifies all that is repugnant with "social engineering".
Sanders could hardly be more centrist. See: https://mgpiety.org/2020/03/13/the-myth-of-sanders-socialism/
1
In "these 'Times' which are a changin" --- a "radical vision" of democracy over Empire is "not so radical" as the senior leader of "Our Revolution" Against Empire, Bernie would say!
2
I'll take heart and compassion over zealotry any day.
3
He was not an enrolled Democrat except for the two presidential election campaigns. The national committee needs to pass a rule that no Democrat with less than 5 years as enrolled Democrat can run as a national nominee. That's how we got Trump. That's how we almost got Bernie.
America is obsessed with giving equal importance to the sizzle as to the steak when it is the steak which is all that should count. Biden is the more loving and respectful mainstream leader. Bernie is the angry revolutionary self-proclaimed socialist.
Bernie's steak is superior and is what more than half of America needs. Bernie is rightly pointing out that the system is stacked in favor of the rich and the well connected while it keeps the lower half of the country chained to the bottom. He wants to make the system work just as well for the lower half. He wants to make the American dream a reality for all Americans.
Even Bernie's socialist label is misleading. There is nothing socialist about a $15.00 minimum wage. There is noting socialist about Medicare for all. There is nothing socialist with the big corporations paying their fare share of the taxes. There is nothing socialist about reducing the gap between the rich and poor.
Socialism make its leaders extremely rich while keeping the rest poor. Isn't this the current American reality? So it is this socialist American system that Bernie is trying to change.
In this last debate Biden wrapped himself in Bernie's agenda & he successfully showed that they were both on the same page but that Biden was the better leader in accomplishing these goals.
In Bernie's loss America has lost the chance to even the odds for the poor. However Biden has a chance to fulfill Bernie's very revolution that he so vigorously opposed.
4
If there is any lesson to be learned here it’s that America needs a leader willing to push endlessly for national healthcare, and a real safety net for the poorest. Many people are now in danger of losing their homes, falling into debt with student loans and having trouble just feeding their families. Amazon is still not paying taxes, and many people will be pushed of their company health care at the worst possible time. Seems like the country didn’t see it coming but would have been better off with Bernie.
9
Mr. Sanders wants to have a perfect world. I admire him for that. Too bad the DNC undermined him 2016. IMHO he may have been able to beat Trump then, but not now. Today part of his problem is that most of the youth vote that I know of is registered Independent - if at all. Hard to win a major party nomination if many of your potentially most enthusiastic supporters aren’t registered as Democrats or at all.
In terms of his platform shouting revolution and someone else is going to finance it doesn’t sit well with most of the folks who do pay taxes. Not many chess games are won in 3 or 4 moves. To accomplish what he is proposing requires a clearly detailed explanation of the game plan.
2
Bernie has a vision and he steadfastly adheres to that vision. Thank you Bernie for being you. I will always admire you. Americans will be sorry one of these days, but I am too old to be here when that happens. I am not one of Bernie's youthful fans, I am a very well educated and informed 80+ year old and hope that one day all those supportive youths who do understand will be in charge of things!
13
Bernie was caught out by the voting public.
His heart might be in the right place and he did bring up critically important issues that must be addressed.
But his "plans" to pay for them would be impossible to enact.
America listened and they did not buy Bernie's act.
3
@Futbolistaviva you are now seeing how the bail out of businesses, etc, during a pandemic, is being paid for. What most Americans fail to understand is that the money is always there for corporations and tax cuts for the rich, while money for the country safety nets is never there. Don’t you question this?
3
One thing that Bernie Sanders did achieve - he eliminated Elizabeth Warren as a viable candidate. If he had not decided to run for the Democratic Nomination, she was the candidate that the progressive voters would have turned to. And his ideas would have stood a better chance of making it into the party platform and into legislation. Progressive women who supported Mr Sanders should recognize that they derailed one of the three likely female candidates. And AOC should apologize to feminists who hoped for a woman President in 2020. And, by the way, I was not a Warren supporter.
5
@Mary Ann Warren took all of Bernie's ideas and proposals - for that I will never forgive her. It isn't a question of having a woman for President, it is a question of integrity and forthrightness. Bernie has all of those qualities and thank goodness he did not sacrifice those just to win! I will always love Bernie!
6
@Mary Ann you must be kidding... Warren showed weakness, politically and in character. Voters saw through. A brilliant brain, progressive, she shouldn’t have picked up a fight with Sanders on the debate stage. That was suicide. She showed immaturity in choosing her battles. Biden should have been her focus. And I blame Sanders for not going hard on Biden as well.
2
@Mary Ann What you say makes sense, except that the Biden behemoth of "mature" voters would have squashed Warren had her and Sanders's roles been reversed.
2
Sanders and Warren voices are being heard, in ways that they do not even understand. I do not think either candidate was electable though. But I like to hear what they have to say. It makes me think about and re-evaluate my opinions, my views. And yes I have changed some of my opinions. But we as democrates actually do support democracy and the people, where as republicans want a demi-god. Republicans are terrified by change or the prospect of change. They can not deal with the "norm" changing and them loosing out. We need his voice as he makes us think about life and politics in general. Republicans do not like to think, they want to be TOLD.
4
Misunderstood America, possibly. But Bernie and his voters clearly misunderstood the importance of a key American institution - the U.S. Senate, having let it slide to a kleptocratic, regressive Republican majority. If Mr. Sanders is willing to lead an effort to regain a Democratic majority, he could yet have considerable influence on a progressive American fate.
9
I don't think there's much of a mystery here. Most Democrats don't want a 'revolution,' which is what Bernie has called for. And speaking just for myself, I don't think Bernie understands the US or world economy well enough to captain such a revolution, anyway.
There are plenty of things that would greatly improve people's lives, and which are incremental improvements over the status quo.
Things like higher subsidies for ACA plans, so that middle income people can actually afford them, and so that everyone in the country actually has health insurance.
Better subsidies for state schools, so that college is more affordable.
Support for vocational education and apprenticeships, since not everyone is going to go to college.
And higher levels of unemployments benefits, so that people can weather downturns better.
This isn't hard.
10
@PghMike4 No, this ain't hard. FDR didn't waste the opportunity either, when everything collapsed. But if we don't win in November (across the board), it won't matter much. We need to push for mail-in balloting across America, and push back hard against Republicans who'll scream about illegal voting. (Before and after!) We need a clean sweep of the Republican party across National, State and Local elections. Now, that's a revolution!
3
@PghMike4 Sanders has a deep understanding of the world economy. Most economists agree with him by now. He articulates what’s is wrong with this country, without any doubts. Unfortunately, the status quo won. For many reasons, and specially the following: Bernie’s own fault for not going hard on Biden, by not unmasking the corruption that Biden’s represents and his lack of judgment, in addition to Biden’s early cognitive impairment. Trump will hit Biden hard, by the left, like he did with Clinton. I’m very sorry to see this happening - again.
3
Change takes courage and vision, scarce commodities in a country gripped by fear. Fear of another 4 years of the current administration has been augmented by fear of a pandemic, fear of losing jobs and homes, fear of losing what is familiar. Only when there is nothing left to lose will people be ready for the revolution that will bring a better life, a better country, a better world. Comfort breeds complacency.
13
@lrb945
Our founders, framers, and farmers weren't fearful or "complacent" when facing the essential need to confront the nearly global British Empire --- why should we be cowed when our most "radical visioned" and progressive social democratic president FDR said, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself", and when Bernie en'couraged' us forward to "Our Revolution" Against Empire?
2
@lrb945 We'll soon see because after this pandemic, many will have nothing left, and nothing left to lose. Even so, I have complete confidence that the American people will make the worst possible decisions to enable the worst possible outcome. It's been that way since 1980.
2
In some ways, Mr. Sanders has won. Universal health care (not Medicare for all) is no longer a radical issue dismissed out of hand. He and Warren are right about large corporations oversized influence on our democracy and economy, although she explained it better. College debt is hobbling an entire generation. The Democrat platform will need to address these issues in order to win, and that's a good thing.
13
@Kathleen
"that's a good thing" -- if it happens --- and it will only happen if that "radical vision" coming with "Our Revolution" any "forced reckoning onto the Democratic Party" and the entrenched, 'dollar-drenched', establishment, and Empire-friendly DNC.
2
Consistently blaming a non-specific "establishment" for voter decisions gets old. It's not a unifying message. Also remember that the Democrats are a coalition of interest groups not a single-minded doctrinaire set of people even at the top. Two of Sanders' wins were not elections but caucuses. Consistent with the rules, they were not a measure of genuine electoral strength. People also recalled his lukewarm and late support of Clinton in 2016 and the defection of a key group of his supporters to Trump. That made it hard to see him as a true party unifier. Finally, his agenda was not likely going to play well in battleground states where the 2020 election will be decided and his coattails in key senate races were questionable. All of this added up to the voters determination that Biden was the better choice to beat Trump which really is Priority 1.
11
@HPower the "republican lite" Hillary, Bill, and politicians that controlled the democratic party were what I thought of when Bernie used the label "establishment". Since the discovery of so many white working class Americans with a decreasing lifespan and their opioid epidemic it seems something radical and significant must be done to address this despair. Off shoring mfg jobs that decimate a community so that a small group of investors/owners can add to their wealth is a problem repubs will never address. "Are there no work houses"? If dems can't address this issue what are they really good for?
5
No matter what Bernie wants, he has never explained how he would actually gets bills written and voted on if somehow he would be elected. Think about the down-ballot Democrat House members running with him at the top of the ticket, many of whom so recently fought to get Obamacare passed. Now their platform would include throwing away that signature accomplishment and their opponents would have a field day with that massive bait and switch. The Republicans would sweep the House and retain the Senate. No Bernie ideas would ever make it out of committee or be voted on. Presidents don't write bills, they find sponsors in their party to do so and this would be improbable outcomes based on the mechanisms of our government.
15
The answer is both.
And I like many of Sander's positions, but never Sanders. That's why it was Warren for me.
7
I don't think it is a matter of misjudgment. Admirably, Sanders has pretty much remained who is, politically, during his campaign. He, in fact, is the major presidential candidate, who in my 50 years of voting, comes closest to my personal political views. But, I also recognize that my political view would not win a national election because the vast majority of voters have different views. My "judgment" about Sanders is that he has less of a chance of defeating Trump in a national election than does Biden.
I don't think he misjudged America either. His candidacy is sort of a litmus test for the voting populace. The result was that it does not appear, convincingly enough, that a majority of the voters are comfortable with a politician with his perspective.
10
Whoa! Did America mis-judge another ancient white guy ranting about Capitalism? The same guy who endorsed his wife, paid by the tiniest of VT colleges $160K a year to run a One Hundred Student College, as she saddled the college with $10,000,000 in debt. College folded. How fast can you say Free Tuition and $160,000 a year for 100 students? His surrogate is complaining that there was voter suppression in a primary with 37% higher voter turnout, 800,000 plus mail in votes, won in a land-slide by Joe Biden. Sanders campaign claimed only one polling place for "one million students" at UMich. This school has 44K plus students. Not one million. And the president of this vibrant research/undergrad univ is paid @ $22 bucks per student. Mrs. Sanders didn't apply. To be fair, her on-line degree might not have passed muster. But in VT, married to the ranting Bernie, it did.
15
@winchestereast And this rant is off-kilter. Burlington College was a private, non profit org and could pay whatever they wanted to. Middlebury College pays $425k. You're sounding very jealous here.
1
I agree, " the last thing I want or need is Sanders’ glowering, scolding, and launching his political revolution. Like Trump, the guy just stresses me out"
I would like a sane adult in power, not someone seeking to forward his agenda.
24
Bernie Sanders is one of the nicest guys on the planet and only angered by the state of our corporate ruled government.
6
@anonymous
Sane doesn't pick fights and spew profanities at voters.
Sane doesn't think he was imprisoned protesting for Nelson Mandela.
Sane doesn't promise his billionaire backers that "Nothing will fundamentally change".
"Sane" will be just the Dem. version of Ronnie Raygun; a puppet place holder for those standing behind in the shadows to control.
By the by...that someone's "agenda" is one of equality and making life better for the 99%.
Something 'merica is in desperate need of.
1
After four years of the Trump circus, the last thing I want or need is Sanders’ glowering, scolding, and launching his political revolution. Like Trump, the guy just stresses me out. Chillin’ with Biden for the next four years sounds like pure heaven after what we’ve been through with the clown who needs to be given the hook.
14
@Kathleen Rogers With all respect, if you truly believe we'll be 'chillin' with Biden' for the next four years, you're in for a shock. We'll be in a Depression no matter WHO occupies the WH; another real possibility is that CoVid-19 is only one of several hybrid viruses which will emerge. I understand you seek comfort, but unfortunately the world has other plans...
1
@Kathleen Rogers do you really prefer a guy who lies (was never for social security cuts), invent stories (was arrested in Africa while visiting Mandela), accuses his opponent of having nine (9!) PACs - when challenged to name them, he can’t because it’s a lie! An idiot, to say the least.
1
Bernie has some good ideas but he doesn't present them well. He seems to imply that unions are the salvation of America yet only 10% of Americans belong to unions.
Roughly 30% of voters are Republicans, 30% are Democrats and 40% are Independents. In a Primary he may get a large number of votes yet he doesn't seem to win over the Independents who are more likely to vote for Biden because he is closer to their political point of view. I think many Independents who voted for Trump will be willing to vote for a Democrat who is not extreme.
Although younger voters don't really look at it, I think a lot of people want to make money. Bernie comes across like if you want money you are evil.
7
@Tom Check the polls. Bernie won independents over Biden in many of the states, likely because he is an Independent..
7
@Tom Sanders doesn't have a problem with people making money, he's made profits off the books he's written. He has a problem with a system that has given wealth to a few and nothing to the masses. It began when the Republicans decided to do away with automatic minimum wage hikes correlated with the cost of living. When they started giving the rich a free pass because they "deserved" it. Their taking never stopped. The entitlement of the rich for fifty years has led us to where we are today. An autocracy taking care of the few rich. The 1% loves dictators who protect their money, especially with a pandemic. Barr wants congress to suspend the Constitution for Marshall Law. Call your Representatives and say NO.
1
@Tom The Indies who voted for Trump aren't going to vote for Biden anymore than they voted for Hillary. Your position is illogical.
1
I’m immensely relieved that I won’t have to vote for Sanders but can vote for Biden. I have so many valid reasons for loathing Sanders.
9
@A Dots Name one.
Medical care for all?
Education for all?
Homeless programs?
The truth when it hurts?
3
@A Dots I loathe Biden. Can’t stand his lies, his republican tendencies and corruption.
1
Bernie is an Old Testament prophet. While he may have some examples of governing in his deep past, he never seemed to value it as a calling or a skill. (FYI,Burlington is 50% the size of South Bend!) My issues with him were he gave every appearance of being a my-way-or-the-highway person and that's truly a fatal flaw in governing. I remember Kurt Eichenwald's Newsweek piece just after the election of '16 on the voluminous opposition research the Clinton campaign never used.. While he and his supporters criticized the 'Democratic establishment' he had never been subject to the kind of full-out attack by Dems that he would be in the general election . And, my sense of fair play is you can't reap the benefits of a party without giving something back to it. By allowing Bernie Bros to flourish, he has helped create the cancel culture. It remains to be seen if he can leave in such a way that builds and doesn't just destroy.
13
Bernie is stubborn. He has not changed since the 2016 election. He believes he is right and that his way is the best, so he sticks to his guns. Too bad he has no plan or completely impractical plans for his "free goods" -- healthcare, college, housing and green new deal. It all just magically happens (sort of like when Trump said the Coronavirus will miraculously just disappear on its own.). Of course the "free goods" ideology is popular for those desperate for these items.
12
I think Bernie judged America pretty well, with one exception. He failed to judge how deeply the Democratic establishment loathed him and viewed him as an existential threat -- even more so than Donald Trump. This allowed them to act, with breathtaking speed and an uncharacteristic level of coordination, to stop him in his tracks before Super Tuesday. Now, we're stuck with Biden, and a Democratic Party that has no soul, no new ideas, and a maddening inability to mount an effective response to Trump's mishandling of the Coronavirus. Why? Because they failed to embrace the one leader whose vision and policies could could have mitigated the economic and health catastrophe we are now facing. When the history books of this period are written, Bernie won't look like a radical at all. He'll look like a prophet.
17
@Morty S. I am sorry but you are miss-judging the reason Sanders lost the primaries to Biden. To think that the democrat establishment was so fast to act after the first and second super-Tuesdays given them to Biden is
not realistic neither factual. Democrat representative Jim
Clyburn support for Biden was pivotal to wake up the fears, old US American fears, of Black and White people of a socialist, very dogmatic and, I would add, not charismatic candidate.
René
6
Bernie lost for the same reason he lost in 2016, Joe's domination of Southern states on Super Tuesday which, like Hilary's, gave him a sufficient momentum and lead to carry him the rest of the way. The irony is that the Democrats will again lose those states in November.
8
A good and well balanced article that shows many sides of the Bernie Sanders campaigns.
The bottom line, now, as it stands today, is that, although Bernie will try to get Biden to buy into his platform and proposals, which he should do, as there are good points to what Bernie has been pushing and proposing, Bernie MUST support Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United states, And not only support him, but he MUST get his people to support and VOTE for VP Biden.
On top of and despite Trump's accepting the support of outside intervention, such as Russian efforts to sow discord and division, just like Trump, Bernie's lackluster support of Hillary Clinton cost her the election. It doomed her. It seems that many of Bernie's supporters either voted for a third party or didn't vote at all. His lack of strong support is what cost the Democrats the election and put Trump into power.
It's not to say that Secretary Clinton didn't have her own issues. She certainly did with one of them being her inability to relate to and connect with a lot of voters. However, if Bernie had truly supported her, the election, although it might have been close, would have had a completely different result. Bernie owns this.
If Bernie doesn't get 100% behind VP Biden and truly support him and encourage his supporters to go out and promote and vote for him, we will have the same result as we did in 2016. This will be a travesty for this country. And, Bernie will own it again.
19
@Life-long Yankee It is important to check the facts before making untrue assertions. Firstly, what many conveniently leave out, Debbie Wasserman Schultz took the fall and was forced to resign before the convention for colluding with team Clinton and mainstream media to cheat Bernie. With this knowledge, Bernie still went out and did 34 rallies for her around the country and most of his voters also voted for HC as well. More Sanders supporters voted for HC than Clinton supporters voted for Obama.
2
@Life-long Yankee I’m afraid you didn’t see how gentle Bernie was in (not) attacking Biden during the debates and all along. “Joe, a good friend of mine” was never really challenged on his Republican tendencies, such as the bankruptcy bill, the criminal bill, noisy calls for changes to social security & Medicare, his strong support (not only a simple vote), his fight for the war, and so many other horrible misjudgments. Bernie was simply nice about all this, and that’s why he lost the South. Don’t try to blame Bernie if Biden is destroyed by Trump.
1
@Jackie Hi, I appreciate your comments; however, the facts are that Bernie held grudges against Ms. Clinton. Maybe it was because of what you mentioned. However, he never wholeheartedly supported her, even though he did do rallies for her. It was obvious. He did not like her. Anyone who was paying attention could clearly see this. And, his supporters never bought into his support. From what I have read and seen through multiple sources is that too many Bernie supporters either chose not to vote or voted for a third party, which is the same as voting for trump. I acknowledged that Hillary had her own issues, and that didn't help her. However, the number of Bernie supporters who chose not to participate or support her did actually cost her the election. That's why it is so important that Bernie take a more supportive stance with Biden. And, in all honesty, because he considers Biden a friend, I feel that he will.
A lot of it can be placed at the feet of MSM and the journalists who are beholden to big corporations not only for their paycheck, but for advertising revenue.
Citing policies as "revelutionary" or "radical" when 70%+ of Americans believe that they are beneficial and worth supporting, and decrying the term "socialism" as if it's a bogeyman, when they deliberately avoid using the same term for the bail out of Wall St or the billions of dollars paid in subsidies to big Pharma, oil companies and many other conglomerates, is showing incredible bias.
Whether Sander could have won, I don't know, but it would have been interesting to have a more balanced approach.
Not all journalists were devoured by corporatism, but they are unfortunately few and far between.
The next test will be the full 2020 election, where the journalist's companies will want Trump to keep giving them bailouts and tax breaks at the expense of the remaining population.
9
Bernie changed the entire political landscape with his two campaigns. Perhaps he would have been a successful president, perhaps not. But he served his purpose with his campaigns. He brought out how very corrupt the entire political system is, with the good ole boys controling who we are allowed to vote for on both tickets, just as is done in countries like Iran. He brought issues up for discussion and solutions that no one thought of or dared to mention before. I will vote happily for Joe Biden as president, but my heart is won by Bernie Sanders.
16
I get that Sanders is running against clock and unlikely to be the Dem nominee. As much as I want Donald Trump out of the White House, however, I believe that Sanders makes some very valid and useful points in this profile for staying in the race for a while longer. That said, I'd feel very differently if Biden moved ASAP to adopt Sanders funding model and stopped taking money from corporations, PACs and wealthy people. If Sanders can raise this kind of money from small individual donors, why can't Biden? By doing that Biden will send a loud and clear message not only to Sanders supporters that he's serious about cleaning up the real swamp driving elections but finally act like a leader and jumpstart campaign finance reform finally. If he does that Sanders can legitimately bow out.
10
@Blue Heron Biden can't get enough donations to run for president because he's a terrible candidate. He has no platform. He works for the wealthy and corporations. Biden is parroting Bernie's platform but do really think he will follow through on any of it. Just like Obama, Biden will fall back into his establishment position where he belongs and ignore the people who voted for him. I'm not willing to vote for another bad candidate selected and approved by the DNC because they really don't want a progressive as president and will never allow Bernie to win. The primary was rigged to eliminate Bernie one way or another. The polling counts are nowhere near the exit poll numbers. Bernie won most of the states and should be the candidate. Unless we demand to see the ballots and count them in the open the DNC will get away with this again and we will be the losers again for at least 4 more years, probably with Trump as our president. If Biden wins the status quo will be maintained. We will be ruled by the big corporations and the wealthy. Our democracy is broken. Let's make an effort to save it before it is gone entirely.
12
@cjonsson: I'm a Bernie/Warren supporter all the way. We must join and pressure Biden and the democratic party to adopt many of the critical changes that Warren and Sanders promote. We've already lost a decade or two in which the powerful Supreme Court and lower courts who will strike down or weaken much progressive, humane legislation that will be passed. All because we couldn't stomach HRC.
2
@cjonsson Hey, get real! I am not a Biden fan, but seriously the "status quo" under a Biden admnistration is SO much better than 4 more years of Trump. If you and other Biden supporters can't recognized that and vote out Trump, you are doing the country a huge disservice not to mention huge further damage to disadvantaged people everywhere. And that's just in the USA.
2
Bernie has run an honorable and meaningful campaign for two presidential election cycles, based on what appears to be genuine commitment to policies that would help average Americans. But he has issues. His unwillingness to join the Democratic Party, even as he vied for its nomination, suggests a bizarre stubbornness that verges on self-harm. He surely lost votes for that reason alone. His record of brave votes and fiery speeches, but little legislative accomplishment of his own, has also left many of us wondering if he has the political skills needed to get any of his revolutionary policies adopted, even if elected to the White House.
10
@Hardbull
Hello from the Northeast.
First, I'm in my late 60s with a serious health issue and I worry about men who will hit their 80rs becoming president. I was leaning toward Sen. Warren.
Sen. Sanders definitely has the right stuff. He is a leader with vision. He is campaigning on the issues. He doesn't pander. He is smart. His poll numbers were equal to Biden's. He is politically skillful enough to be where he is and to get what he wants in legislation. He is scornful of the big-money Dems. In 2016, his opponent got hundreds of thousands of dollars for appearing in front of Goldman Sachs.
And this news organization's coverage of Sen. Sanders then and now has been a disgrace.
Oh, and I'll be enthusiastically voting for Vice President Biden.
7
@Hardbull when you talk about traditional “political skills” what do you even mean? Getting the policies approved by rich donors first?
What legislative accomplishments did Trump have? Are we even asking the right questions when we approach elections or are we spoon fed everything by media networks?
Congress for decades has failed to carry out the will of the people because of corruption stemming from money-in-politics. 70% of the policies people want are blocked. A great example was the background checks bill after Newtown. Congress has an approval rating of 23%.
Here the renowned economist Thomas Piketty makes the case that Americans continue to vote against their economic interests. This isn’t about Bernie or even Warren, it’s about self-determination, it’s about democracy - and we’re still not there:
https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/piketty/2020/03/10/sanders-to-the-aid-of-democracy-in-the-united-states/
2
@two teachers Creating laws that turn his ideas into reality is an important part of the job. That means bringing along other members of congress and the senate, and leading a groundswell of public support. No one said it was easy. But that's what a leader does.
3
Certainly the mainstream media (CNN the main one), did Bernie disservice by cutting away from his rallies in 2016, just as he began to talk, and giving us a full length relay of Trump's rant and bluster. It was as though they were mesmerised by him. Or it may have just been the ratings they followed. Even in 2019 the pundits, except for the token Bernie spokesperson on the panel, conveyed their fears, doubts and biasses quite clearly ...
12
@Angela Koreth
Nonsense! Starting last fall, the running narrative from the media AND Dem establish figures like David Plouffe was that Bernie was the "inevitable frontrunner". And they continued to insist on that even after Buttigieg tied Bernie in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
If not for Klobuchar's post debate rise in the polls, Pete would have beaten Bernie in NH!
2
@Elizabeth Nonsense Elizabeth. Though Plouffe, the only honest pundit of the crop on cable news, made these pronouncements, few else did (or were allowed to). Instead of honestly discussing his campaign before voting began we heard the pundits vitriol 24/7. "Bernie makes my sin crawl," "Bernie yells and is loud,"(They said the same of Bella Abzug), "Bernie is a socialist," "he's a communist," "He's comparable to the Third Reich," "Sanders is like the Corona virus." All the time.
I voted for Bernie. I would do it again even upon knowing that he will loose. One of the duties of being a citizen is to be informed and in my evaluation Bernie was honest about the issues and spoke about them more than any other candidate.
I support many of the positions Democratic party espouses. In my opinion they don't fight for their values. To me, Democratic party is currently unmoored, perhaps a bit harsh.
I wish them luck.
15
@Ramesh You said "I support many of the positions Democratic party espouses. In my opinion they don't fight for their values." The Democratic party espouses views that it does not believe or support just to win elections. Anybody that actually will work for those values is eliminated from the running, like Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard.
13
@Ramesh I left the Republican party in the last six years after being in it for decades but I did not change my affiliation to Democratic. They have been unmoored and because there are so many disparate groups within the party, they're sloppy and often appear and are disorganzed but I will vote for anybody who is not a Republican hereon and forward. when you look at how they've lied and what their policies have done to those of us who are not in the 1% or rich in any way, how can you let them continue to lie their way through their terms. At least even the worst Democrat has compassion and inclusiveness.
5
@cjonsson You are describing both parties to a T. That these folks spend 90 percent of their time begging campaign money and for us to think that's not pay to play is insane and ignorant. Of course they do extra for the guys with the deepest pockets who open those pockets to them.
2
The US has become such a sad place for many people Bernie gave people hope to make the country a decent place to live in. It is hard to understand what the democratic party is about now except for greed. I had remembered a party of knowledge, compassion and helping those less fortunate and you believed this. We made life a total rat race that only those who are wealthy can join and seemed to have lost so much in between.
21
I don’t know if the country misjudged him, but the NYT?
26
Clinton's loss to Trump was a perfect storm: the years of right wing demonization, Roger Stone's machinations with e mails Russia and Wikileaks, James Comey's mishanding of the e mail situation with the Anthony Weiner computer bringing the issue back just before the election, and Clinton and her campaign's misguided strategies/incompetencies that ignored the experience of Bill and his more seasoned campaign veterans, deserves a lot of blame. Finally there's the many Sanders 2016 supporters who either stayed home or voted Trump. Sanders gets a chance to make excuses in this article but really he could have done much much more. If any one of the above was different the close election may have gone differently. Therefore I believe it is legitimate to put some blame on Sanders for Trump's election. I also believe he should put his full support behind Biden, sooner the better
23
@EDT Did you read the article? Bernie wanted to support Hillary earlier but his supporters were apoplectic, so he had to take time to talk about an improved platform and get them there persuasively.
Now that we know how and why Clinton lost, the impetus is CLEARLY not on Bernie to drop out and endorse Biden, it’s obvious and desperately necessary that Biden announces bold progressive policies to galvanize the factions.
Especially as primaries like OH and GA are being delayed, this is the time for Biden and the DNC to meet Bernie/Warren in the middle and announce concessions to unite both wings of the party. Biden must not repeat Hillary’s mistake, even if it means alienating the lobbyists, donors and media pundits who serve the 1%.
4
@EDT Bernie can't force his followers to vote for Hillary or Biden. Many of us were not Dems and were willing to crossover just for Sanders - he made us feel hopeful- Biden doesnt. I won't vote for Biden no matter what Bernie says. I will vote Green but I will not validate the choice of the DNC!
1
@Monti Markell You can vote for whoever you want to. That said, if you vote in a way that allows the liar in chief another 4 years - it is on you.
2
This was a sophisticated take.
This is the moment of the winter soldier.
All else to date has been and will be the sound and fury of the corporate media's self-interest. It will merely be the wailing and gnashing of teeth of talk show hosts growing even wealthier via their morning, afternoon and nightly entertainment ideologing.
I see Two Necessary and Interrelated Ways to return to Democracy: a real congress, and multitudes organizing to make the elites and the top 5 or 10 percent fear them.
Or else, a Revolution will explode. Almost all of us will experience it with no fore-knowledge of what awaits us: whether it will bring much more of a return to more Income Equality and Democracy or Dictatorship.
8
@Dart the top 10% is fearful. The top 1% at the top has control of the unruly mob. You can be in the top 10% if you are obedient and be cast to the wolves in a heartbeat. Trump shows it with hiring and firing his administration. To go from successful to being blackballed is a reality in the US. Where are the calls for Snowden's pardon? How is it acceptable to persecute Chelsea Manning?
1
In the real world, most Americans are uncomfortable with the prospect of sudden, radical change - even if they agree with the ultimate goals. That is the fundamental political reality in America that the Sanders campaign fails to embrace. Making progress toward progressive goals in an incremental manner is much more palatable to most voters. Rigid, all-or-nothing demands for radical change are perceived as both politically infeasible, and pragmatically unwise. Bernie failed to show voters a willingness to compromise and break down his goals into bite-sized, incremental pieces. He did a very poor job of articulating how he would rally support in Congress to actually get anything done. He failed to show clearly how he would pay for his ambitious proposals. Except for his highly alienated core (young folks with little political experience), folks shrank from the expectation to swallow the elephant whole.
Our American governance structure (tripartite division of power among the judiciary, legislative and executive branches, a bicameral legislature, and an electoral college weighted more heavily than the popular vote) is purposefully designed for moderation.
When we listen to Bernie and Joe arguing about what is politically possible and how to get there, what people hear is that Joe gets it, and Bernie does not.
27
@Craig King All good points, but the main one is that in all the radical rhetoric Mr. Sanders failed to convey to the voters the spirit of his governing in Burlington. As a Republican I have always supported Sanders because of his record as a "Socialist" to not only showed he worked to building programs based on principles, but that he could so do while working with and become popular with the Chamber of Commerce. One conservative from Vermont told me that everyone there supports Sen. Sanders. If he could govern as U.S. President as he did as mayor in Burlington we would be truly fortunate, but unfortunately Mr. Sanders and his staff never wanted to tell the story of his exemplary record. That is perhaps understandable but is truly an indictment of some sort of our electoral system.
5
@Craig King - Do you feel that the American governance structure was made for times like these? Does this pandemic care about the tripartate division of power? Things don't have to be this way. Dozens of other countries are, out of compassion for their citizens, enacting sweeping changes to support society. Bureaucracy should take a backseat to humanity. Focusing on "how to get it done the way we've gotten used to doing it" is going to kill millions of people who just need us to *do it*. It's a pandemic, and an economic crisis, a climate crisis all at once. Hslf measures and compromises will not do. FDR 2.0 will be extraordinary for the USA and the world. Have some courage!
2
@Craig King to much burden placed on Bernie Sanders. Trump said he was going to build a wall. A wall was built. Even with the Democrats controlling the Congress or the Senate. It was long past time for Democrats to deliver. They have not. Bernie raised more money than all of them on donations from individual donors on an average on value of 32 dollars. I wish Bernie would spend the money. I want Biden to get none of it. If Bernie was broke I would give him more.
4
Who is representing ALL of America? Who has put Healthcare for everyone into law? Who has made gender, race and sexual equality a step closer to normal? Who has defended a woman's right to decide how she treats her body and the birth of a child? Who has reinforced the founding principles of a nation of immigrants? Who has fought against the war on Labor Unions? Who put in place the first of it's kind anywhere a Consumer Protection Administration? Who has never stopped fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment?
I see Joe Biden's name on ALL of the above, along with Nancy Pelosi and Democrats. Bernie's name is a not there as a leader over his term in the Senate. He votes against more than he votes for. And where his the legislative record to achieve what he has campaigned for?
There is a big gap and probably an insurmountable one between Sanders policies and any chance of adoption. It's a proposal that is not only unlikely, but very deceptive.
It is true that he has pushed the party, which he refuses to join, more left. But it's also true that he has not worked to help beat Trump if he's not the nominee. That was true in 2016, and so far true in 2020.
If you don't win in our present form of Government, you just stand by and complain. That's why nearly all of the down ticket Democratic candidates at all levels, don't and won't endorse Sanders. The professional politicians fear a Trump/Republican landslide with Bernie as the candidate
12
@MP Crugnale I wonder if Anita Hill would agree. Or the dead in Iraq. Or those who support the Hyde Amendment. Or oppose cuts to Medicare. Or those of use who think we are years too late with M4A as the present crisis shows. Biden has been there for the corporations and personally enriching his family. He has not been there for us.
18
@MP Crugnale This just untrue.
Read the article. Bernie campaigned ALL over the US for Clinton. Especially the Midwest.
3
@MP Crugnale Wow - what world are you living in? Biden did none of those things. He said he wasn't sure women should have complete control over their bodies. Biden is a segregationist! He has no health care plan. He hasn't done anything for immigrants and he has the beginnings of dementia quite clearly. He gave us Clarence Thomas!
I don't know how you think you know who Joe Biden is when you are crediting him with things he has never done!
Sanders just got in the way of Warren's opportunity to lay out a new vision where the Citizens get to take their society back from the Raptor, the corporation. All his ego driven "my way" jingoism served to block a real debate (along with the opportunists running for name recognition, like Harris). Sanders plan was to never get real or explain his views. Now, hope that Biden chooses Warren to add populist economic hope to his campaign!
11
@timit Warren's vision was peeking into Bernie's office windows and copying what she seen. As soon as she got desperate she flipped on anything she thought would keep her in the game. There was no integrity there. If she did care about her policies that greatly mirror Bernie's, then she would have endorsed him (possibly by announcing a Sanders/Warren ticket).
She could have softened his tone some, while still delivering progressive policies, that overwhelmingly seem to be popular looking at exit polls. Ones that she supposedly stands for. Instead she did nothing. Like Biden supporters say, if you don't vote for Biden you're voting for Trump... Her not endorsing Bernie might as well have been her endorsing Biden.
I was a huge Warren fan, donated to her, read her book, went to her rallies, etc... I supported her until this election opened my eyes. I considered her a female version of Bernie, someone who can't be bought, someone who has unbreakable integrity, morals, and honesty. Sadly that wasn't what I seen during the primary. She looked more like the corporate shills than the progressive she was in my eyes.
10
@timit Did you go to his website where his plans and financials were clearly laid out. Or did you decide they sound bites from the establishment?
Warren is not a progressive in any way , shape or form.
You seem uninterested in truth.
3
Perhaps we can say that we've now learned a lot about Bernie Sanders. But what I've learned most is the nature of the "moderate" wing of the Democratic Party. I've learned that they are the most economically conservative political coalition in America today.
As such, the moderate power center of the Democratic Party has nothing to offer the working class, whether economically or socioculturally. The Republican Party similarly has nothing economically to offer the working class, and so they ably fill the void with sociocultural grievance, resentment, and fear.
As a multi-degreed public educator making a decent paycheck and with relative job security, I've never felt more alienated from the Democratic Party than I do now. They are clearly not my people. And if I feel this way, imagine how blue collar workers must feel. Feeble Joe Biden will lose the election just as surely as the coronavirus will still be menacing us tomorrow.
30
@corvid All-or-nothing demands for change don’t generally work in a democracy. Biden understands the political reality of the need for compromise in order to realistically effect incremental progressive change. A sit-out-the-vote tantrum by Sanders supporters will yield nothing but stasis, i.e., 4 more years of Donald Trump. Be careful what you wish for.
17
@corvid Stop falling for the nonsensical language of the DNC. Compromise means doing what the insurance companies want you to do. I don't want my leaders compromising with insurance companies or big banks. I want them to work for the American people. Compromise, moderation, these are just euphemisms for corruption. We have to get money out of politics. Period. Look back at your comments in two weeks when there are bodies in the streets of this country. Will universal healthcare and a social safety net look so pie-in-the-sky then? Will you still be thrilled by Biden's ability to "compromise" then?
2
@Craig King I wish for Bernie Sanders to be allowed to run for president by the sold out DNC. They would rather lose to Trump than let Bernie in the race. Bernie would threaten their power and control. That tells you what the real priorities of the DNC are, money and power.
3
“The only reason Bernie’s in this race,” Jane Sanders told me in early February, “is because we think he’s the best chance to defeat Trump.” That statement just shows how far out of touch the Sanders campaign was. You don't beat Trump by forcing 150M Americans off of their health insurance or by promising health insurance to illegals before their feet have dried off. Bernie's message is aspirational but impractical. Bernie as an individual is inflexible, that doesn't work in politics. "My way or the highway" is the "Lost Highway."
13
@dbl06 oh like trump hasn't been trying to throw 34 million off the ACA. Medicare for all would be implemented immediately with no loss of benefits for anyone. All you need to do is Google it. Old age is not an excuse. I'm 65 and I can't afford to pay for their supplemental insurance. Bernie's policies would incorporate dental and vision, hospitals, medicine, mental health care and home care. At a lower rate than current private insurance premiums.
12
@Joan Maurer, Irrelevant, we all want to get rid of Trump. This election is about the possible not about a particular policy and certainly not about the inflexible positions of Sanders. Your last two sentences are supposition as Bernie himself failed to a price tag on MFA.
4
@dbl06 How can anyone say this, let alone believe it? You don't beat Trump by running a moderate against him. Didn't we learn that from 2016?
Hillary, who I consider a much stronger candidate than Biden, lost to a disorganized, inexperienced Trump in 2016. Trump has his highest approval ratings, has been campaigning for 5-6 years straight, has supporters that camp out overnight to see his rallies, and fills up stadiums with people in red MAGA hats. Biden is the SAME candidate as Hillary, minus a great ability to speak coherently 100% of the time. History will repeat itself.
Biden won most states in the primary that he has no chance of winning in the general. Like the article said, voter turnout isn't up for the most part. Its down in many cases. Then cut out most young people who aren't dedicated to the Democratic party, but are dedicated to progressive ideas... Latinos, who probably remember Obama/Biden's mass deportations. Obama was called the "deporter in chief" and had more deportations than Trump. Independents That aren't tied to a party but mainly support Bernie That is a huge voting block that will be missing for Joe that would have been there for Bernie. Older folks that support Biden are the consistent, reliable voters. They'll vote with their party no matter what. So Bernie would get most of them as well.
Biden won't beat Trump... And if he does it will ONLY happen if he gets enough Trump hate votes, or corona/economic collapse hurts Trump. That's it.
1
I will be voting straight Republican based on the political issues of the day. The only issue on which I favor the general Democrat view is on the need fo more gun control.
Fundamentally, Americans are no longer worthy of the Second Amendment, now tolerating the presence "on the street" of many mentally-ill persons, some of whom turn to guns to express their views.
I vote on issues, not personalities. However, I am really disgusted with Sanders calling all pharmaceutical company executives "crooks."
They are not crooks. They are doing an excellent job in creating and distributing the ethical drugs that we have in this country, and with few exceptions, drug prices reflect the high cost of product R&D.
3
@ProfStewart Said the man apparently living in the country with nationalized medicine and low cost pharmaceuticals. Enjoy the beach pinche prof!
11
@ProfStewart sure insulin should be unaffordable for juvenile diabetics. Big pharma are crooks. Mostly their CEO'S are profiting while people die. Is there a reason for this, yes politicians allowed them. Billionaires every CEO needs to die without the life saving medications they make. Just my opinion.
13
As a younger Bernie supporter I would like to preface my comment by saying I would of course vote for Biden, as I and the vast majority of us did for Hillary.
Despite this, the overall feeling I have been given by this and the past election is a profound sadness at the realization that America lacks courage to respond adequately to challenges of today and the future. I my opinion "moving in the "right direction" is not really much better than moving in the "wrong" direction when your problems are moving faster than you are.
Some people simply won't be convinced. Debate can only do so much in the face of lifetimes of experiences. Change is also hard. Perhaps Bernie wasn't as ruthless as he needed to be but he is running a campaign that he and all his supporters will always be proud of.
I hope that the Biden (though it's not quite over for Bernie) wins in November. If he doesn't, the statement "blue no matter who" will have lost the last shred of potency that it still has.
16
There was no misjudgment of Sanders by the overwhelming majority of Democratic primary voters. Aside from the many shortcomings mentioned by commentators herein, I think another reason for Sander's Democratic voter shortage was the desire of Democratic voters to not repeat the disaster brought about by Ralph Nader's candidacy for President in 2000 when it resulted in the election of George Bush. Almost all the votes that Nader, certainly a "progressive" candidate, received would have been cast for Democratic candidate Al Gore, an equally "progressive" candidate. Think about it! Had Nader voters selected Gore instead of Nader, then the electoral college votes of both Florida and New Hampshire would have gone to Gore and not to George W. With Gore as President, the membership of the Supreme Court and of the lower federal judiciary would be substantially different i.e. "progressive" and Donald Rumsfeld and Ronald Cheney would not have been able to get the United States involved in the war in Iraq.
11
@Al Lapins
Exit polls from Fla. show Nader's 97,000 votes came from an equal thirds of D's, R's and I's.
Results also show Bush won 308,000 registered Fla. Democratic votes.
As in all elections, the nominee needs to win those votes. Gore, and HRC etc. all failed to do thus. Their only job.
To blame others, much less the voters...is a cop out.
Your supposition needs lots more work.
1
@Al Lapins What about the question of DNC cheating Bernie out of the primaries twice? That is the problem. I don't vote for cheaters.
1
@Dobbys sock Gore ended up with more votes then Bush when final count came in. Bush had been sworn in by then.
Biden is perceived as best positioned to defeat Trump. He will allow for incremental change, not radically altering the power structure in America. That's still what most of American voters seems to want. There are times it seems to me that anyone can beat Trump, and at other times he is the favorite to gain another term. I'd prefer Kolbuchar at the head of the ticket as Biden is capable of serious gaffes that could lose him votes, but Bernie's message did not resonate with enough Democratic voters, and to his credit in my opinion he was not willing to attack Biden in a personal and dirty way as Trump will surely attempt to do .
4
@AVIEL Bernie's message resonated with too many people as far as the DNC was concerned. They had to stop him from winning against the will of the people.
1
I stopped reading a third of the way in, because an analysis of Bernie’s “failures” pales in comparison to the man’s achievements.
Bernie galvanized the nation and spurred an historic movement of political consciousness and action—something we’ve not seen in decades. He’s motivated new people to seek public office, and there are now Berniecrats in Congress and across state legislatures. His agenda is so mainstream that we stand the possibility of passing M4A, even if temporarily, under Trump, of all people. (What an outrage that would be for Democrats). Sanders managed to get $15/hr wage for Disney & Amazon workers without even passing legislation, and 7 states have moved in that direction. 4 states have moved to tuition-free public college.
Bernie got it all right. But the media, the party, & disgruntled Clintonites just wouldn’t rest until they killed the messenger. It’s shameful.
Bernie Sanders is an international hero whose efforts will only be acknowledged after he’s departed this life.
27
@me Bernie Sanders's efforts have been acknowledged long before he’s departed this life. He is not finished and neither are we.
1
Did America Misjudge Bernie Sanders?
Absolutely. And the New York Times did a lot of the misjudging. Bernie is no more socialist than the Labour Party of Great Britain or the New Democratic Party of Canada.
I live in Canada where what Bernie is proposing is normal - like single-payer, government-run health care and protections for workers' rights. It's not nirvana, but at least we don't have to worry about paying for COVID-19 care or another 4 years of Donald Trump.
David McLaren
Ontario, Canada
22
@David McLaren I agree - have no idea what they are talking about when he is labeled "far left". He´s a centrist. The NYT was irresponsible in 2016 by not covering Bernie, the DNC also. Now its too late.
8
@P Wilkinson Unconscionable.
1
This shows that a candidate cannot be inflexible. They can't stubbornly adhere to a dogma and refuse to change even if the majority who would elect him are not in step with his plans. It is noteworthy that Bernie's base has seemingly shrunk since 2016. The record turnouts in the recent primaries show that people just want to beat Trump. They don't want a revolution. They don't want to worry about losing their healthcare with no private options. They just want normalcy. No more lies. No tweets. No more Trump.
6
Bernie's believers look upon him as a Savior. What they do not see is what many of us see is someone ranting, screaming and waving his arms like a crazy man. Quiet, dignified persuasion with the ability to compromise works much better. He captured the hearts of the young but didn't make a dent in the beliefs of older people like me who have lived a long time and seen much. He was the only person on that debate stage that never would have my vote. Wish he would ride off into the sunset now, and maybe adopt a different tact than "my way or the highway."
10
@mfiori Anyone who is not raving and ranting right now is truly crazy. Lucky you if you don't see that most of the population is suffering. We need action, even if it makes some people uncomfortable. Bernie 2020.
3
@mfiori no, Biden is being looked at as “a savior” from Trumpism. Sanders raised the consciousness of the country, normalized the idea of healthcare as a human right in a country that sells itself short in elections. Good luck!
Bernie, Thank you for helping me actually believe that America could be a better nation. As we get ravaged now by the coronavirus with no competent leadership on the federal level, I will think about what could have been our future if only we weren’t so apathetic and afraid of big bold change. Please don't give up the fight for hardworking vulnerable Americans, as it’s the only option we have to prevent the total collapse of our beloved country.
13
This is a comprehensive obituary for a long political career. As is customary for obituaries, it gives greater emphasis to positive aspects of the departed.
3
@Marvant Duhon The death of Bernie Sanders has been greatly exaggerated.
2
Everybody - even campaign managers - have a different "take" on why things turn out the way they do.
In 2016 I voted for Bernie in the Primary - liked his liberal policies and didn't like the idea of another "family political dynasty" with Hillary.
But after 3 years of Trump and his bull in the china shop style of "governing" I voted for Biden. Bernie's "revolution" just doesn't seem presidential to me. He's better in the Senate and deserves huge credit for bringing so many leftward.
My candidate of choice was Buttigieg, mainly because, to me, he had the core values and goal of restoration of our democratic institutions, his calmness and decency. But it was not to be.
If Biden can keep from the coronavirus, I feel quite confident he can wisely choose a cabinet, restore some order to the White House, and veer to the left - largely thanks to Bernie.
4
I'm 65 and probably a bit conservative, but the label democratic socialist has never put me off, I associate it with people like Ted Kennedy (who shared many of their ideas), Willy Brandt, Francois Mitterand, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Maybe the lack of courage has to do with the prevailing spirit (I don't blame "the media"). I think the challenges of the last decades have been gigantic (9/11, financial breakdown, the climate hothouse). In response to that some people have resorted to sleeping pills and scapegoats, others had their energy sapped quite badly (low pay, foreclosures, medical expenses) and only a few were able to take up the fight. As a result, people are worn out. Especially psychologically.
A symbol for these times are those unspeakable Saudis who managed to get an elderly journalist killed and dissolved in acid, without any comeback from the rogues who run the present US-government.
The shameful treatment of all those who blew the whistle over US war crimes is another example. That a level-headed guy like Edward Snowden is cooped up in Russia of all places is a terrible indictment of an absolutely corrupt establishment.
They're a worse plague on the planet than Covid-19, but I assure you, both will only be temporary.
14
Bernie has given me hope for this country. Many of us are tired of the politician “package”, which might include a winning smile and even the deceptively proletarian-sounding name “Joe”. We want someone who’ll fight for policies Americans want and need, with fire and passion. That is Bernie. We had lightening in a bottle four years ago with him, and he lost partly due to efforts of the NYTimes. We still have that power, that lightening in the bottle, if you might recognize it and let it shine through your media filter better. To wit: your pile-on with this piece burns Bernie unjustly as past tense, like he’s yesterday’s news. A Facebook Biden supporter ironically posted that he thought Joe was the more “stable” candidate. Well, there are great worries about his mental stability. But I am almost more worried about his being the more groomed-animal, compliantly coming out of the stable to run for his owners. The great sadness is we’re missing another chance America. It’s going to be far easier to win the White House this year, especially with Bernie. The number of Republicans and others who have openly declared they won’t vote for T ever again is astounding. We could win with a proven trench-fighter for sorely needed progress for Americans, or just celebrate the winning smile of a winner on behalf of Corporations.
11
We are still in the shadow of disinformation by the hate media run by the GOP supporters. Those who get their news from Fox, Limbaugh, etc. have no idea what truth really is. Trump has an approval of over 50% by these uninformed folks. Their ignorance rains supreme at the voting booth when GOP voter suppression tactics are added to this ignorance.
5
As I write this I imagine that Bernie is days away from dropping out. Here’s hoping he mans up and supports Biden and convinces his Bernie Bro’s to support Biden as well. Because we all know that there is no I in team. He needs to be a team player and focus on the number one Democrat objective. Defeat Trump.
5
@Douglas Ritter Never.
A little bit of both. The times they are a changing but not as fast that.
Americans don't deserve Bernie, the same way Brazilians didn't deserved Lula. Sad reality, and a great opportunity lost.
11
@psd Twice lost
3
Democrats will soon have buyer’s remorse for selecting dimwitted Joe Biden to run against demented Donald Trump. He’s going to lose in the general election. And then all of us who supported Senator Sanders will have to say, “Don’t blame me, I voted for Bernie.”
10
Robert- no mention of AOC’s advocacy of and for Bernie?
1
If your readers had read Who Will Tell the People, the betrayal of democracy by William Greider, they would learn exactly the kind of candidate who is needed to heal this country. Bernie Sanders is the person America needs. It was written around 1994 and it is still relevant today. Too bad both parties and the corporate media don’t care about the people.
17
@Barbara Johnson Thank you for your gift of history and the genius of William Greider. His writing continues to help guide us through the jungle of propaganda and politics.
1
Bernie is not radical and not out of step with the people. Rather, he is feared and despised by the party leaders who want most to retain their power. Joe Biden was way behind in delegates and polls until the party elite (Clyburn, Perez, Obama, Clinton, etc) weighed in and both endorsed Biden and warned of disaster if Bernie were the candidate. Biden didn't get better or improve his chances of beating Trump. The party decided that the strategy that brought us Gore, Kerry, Clinton, now place their bets on tottering Biden who has a poor legislative history, a bad campaign style and a less than capable debating ability. I am not hopeful.
19
@Charles pack
No and no. Sanders is an egotistical and irresponsible spoiler. A man who deep inside cares more about his own ambitions and "Wall Street" obsession than about the welfare of the country. (Has he ever spoken without defaulting to "Wall Street" as what is wrong with America?)
I abjure him and his obsessed apologists. I've had enough of this old gadfly. He has aggregated far too much power and is wrecking the Left.
7
@Charles pack This was an honest article. Too bad it wasn’t published earlier. If Bernie was 10 years younger, he’d be unstoppable.
2
Bernie's campaign was doomed from the start by identifying himself as a socialist. Americans have been taught for 100 years that socialism equals communism and though the youngest cohort may have been more accepting, the most reliable voting group, older voters were not. Trump knew this and planned his entire campaign, should Bernie be his opponent, on that perception. Had Sanders abandoned this identifier, he could have well positioned himself as a latter day FDR, as his ideas were popular. Now, he needs to give up his own ambition so that those ideas can live on in and help to shape the Biden era.
9
@Jay S
Lol...we've already lived through the "Biden era" . (at least some of us did. Not those Biden sent to their doom in Iraq, or prison, or...)
It's a grave mistake to attempt another rehash of disastrous policy, increased wealth inequality and wars for oil.
11
Sanders just got in the way of Warren's opportunity to lay out a new vision where the Citizens get to take their society back from the raptor, the corporation. All his ego driven "my way" jingoism served to block a real debate (along with the opportunists running for name recognition, like Harris). Sanders plan was to never get real or explain his view. Now, hope that Biden chooses Warren to add economic hope to his campaign!
1
Bernie, stop being a baby and drop out; Screaming at everyone and losing primaries does no one any good and your tilting at windmills is just plain nuts
11
@Chris S
Lol...whom's the one screaming and acting the baby here Chris/Kettle?!
Projection is an ugly thing.
Be better.
9
@Chris S
I accidentally hit, "Share" and in looking for a way to cancel that, "recommend." I see no way to amend so I am just commenting to make it clear I neither share or recommend your opinion.
1
Maybe the times should put “Crony capitalist” in front of Bidens name as much as they put socialist in front of Bernies. Know your Boomer audience triggers?
Centrist bias but lacking neutrality. Neutrality would be to label both in a pejorative manner.
And why is Biden a crony capitalist? How did his son get a job in a position he wasn’t qualified for? Totally legal but morally and ethically a problem.
Any other candidate than Biden would have been better against Trump. Hope you moderates made the right choice.
19
Massive corruption has set our Democracy on the road to being a third rate country. the Supreme Court baloney about "money is free speech" flooded our elections with dark money. Money buys propaganda and propaganda works - not always but often enough so that now politicians court and serve Donors, not voters. The Senate is a Millionaire Club. It would have been more useful to impeach McConnell than Trump for abusing his power to create an unconstitutional and non-reversible veto: not putting legislation up for a vote. He is the Grim Reaper for Democratic or bipartisan legislation.
18
@Saint999 -
Did America Misjudge Bernie Sanders Or Did He Misjudge America
Neither It is just our parasitic aristocratic plutocracy foul handiwork.
Joe Biden Takes Credit For Writing The Patriot Act
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/andrewkaczynski/surveillance-joe
Visualize the Ads when the GOP digs into these little tidbits. Our aristocracy should have done a better job of choosing.
This fight isn't over. The DNC is trying panic people.
9
Senator Sanders ‘steadfast in his radical vision’ ?? Democracy demands its leaders & citizens remain steadfast in their faith in Democracy - the will of the people. Over 2.2 million Democratic primary voters have voted for VP Biden’s call for Obamacare & against Senator Sanders Medicare for All. And Senator Sander’s response is to deride 2.2 million voters as ‘establishment’ ! Senator Sanders has No Respect for the 65% of voters who oppose his ideas. It is time the American people & US Media demand Senator Sanders to stop demeaning 65% of Americans because they oppose his plans. It is time the US Media Fact Check Senator Sanders false claims that every major economy in the World has single-payer universal healthcare. The 30% of Senator Sanders supporters, youth & otherwise, must understand Democracy progresses only by seeking common ground, never by rigid positions trampling all dissenting views. It is time Senator Sanders grew up (at 78yrs !) & acknowledged Democratic voters & the American people do not support Medicare for All, Tution-free College for All...and him. VP Biden should also keep faith with his voters & Not surrender to exotic notions only because they have usurped the label of ‘Progressive’.
8
@S Venkatesh Almost all of your "facts" are wrong. The most glaring one is that voters rejected Medicare for All. The exit polls for the primaries showed clearly that a majority of voters were in favor of Medicare for All but somehow decided that Joe Biden was the person who would bring that about. Democratic voters once again decide to support a person who will not bring about the change they want. I fear they will get exactly what they got last time. And when you talk about "youth" supporting Sanders, please know you are talking about the majority of people under 50 years old.
5
It is not enough to "take on everybody", you have to do so without looking like a crazy lunatic. Trying to sell free healthcare to everyone, even illegal aliens at the expense of taxpayers is not going to work, people are no that stupid. Giving the vote to convicted murderers and child rapist is not a selling point either, it merely convinces many you have no intention at all to win anyway.
10
@Anon E Mouse
People are that stupid.
When the so called illegal aliens in our midsts become the flash point for Corvid-19, you can be darn sure 'merica is going to be clamoring for them to be covered and taken care of. To do else is the epitome of stupid.
As for the vote, either we believe ALL citizens have that right...or we don't. Thus democracy is a sham.
Dunning-Kruger is alive and well in 'merica.
5
Have you travelled anywhere in the world outside of the US? All industrialized nations in the first block and most third world countries have socialized medicine. The US is behind and waisting most taxpayers moneys in the military industrial complex. Medicare is socialized medicine, social security is socialized, congress and senate have socialized medicine as all expenses paid - the best of the best - made possible by tax payers money: your taxes. Why not extend this to all its citizens? Everyone pays taxes. The US needs to move into the present. And sadly, its citizens are paying the price for the blind, naive trust they’ve put on the government. As other readers have commented here, the legislative branch seems to pander and be in the hands of corporations and private interests. They don’t work for the people that elected them.
Mr. Sanders has dedicated most of his life to work tirelessly on behalf of people. He is the president the US needs. Sadly, people seem to be sympathetic to recycled politicians like Joe Biden. He is not a good candidate for the presidency: he’s running using the reputation and the name of the previous president.
4
Bernie has nor rolled the the times.
1
The results of the Florida primary last night made it clear that Sanders mistook his 2016 popularity as a sign of widespread support for his far-left policies, instead of for what it really was: a refusal of so many voters to accept polarizing Hilary Clinton as the Democratic presidential candidate. This elucidates two points, confirmed in this primary cycle, which pain me: one, that voters are not ready to accept a female presidential candidate, no matter how qualified; and two, that Hilary Clinton's ego-fueled candidacy put Donald Trump in the White House.
10
@ELK I agree that voters were not ready for a female president, but after very careful scrutiny of both, I found Clinton to be the better candidate. Every candidate is fueled by ego -- their belief that they can do the job they campaign for. Bernie seems to be more about his ego than about effectively serving the public.
7
In retrospect wish Bernie Sanders should have used Medicare for All as his major major campaign issue, leaving the GND, and free college, college loan forgiveness programs off his agenda, incorporating it later as an after thought. Going after Wall St., Banks, Pharmaceuticals, Lobbying /Lobbyist ect could have waited until elected, but that process can be very cumbersome for any proposals. To much, to far left, for many who cannot not cope with massive systemic changes, mostly of their own fears, both people and from the corporate's.
But these are the systemic changes that are needed, warranted, and most people would agree, should and would be preferable to how our current system is run and by whom...money and influence. A very good current example is the House version of tax payers monies going to find a cure for the corona virus that was legislated thru lobbying, allows pharmaceuticals to patent and hold intellectual property rights to make profits off finding a cure for this pandemic, setting pricing , distribution ect.
So there is currently something inherently wrong with in our system that, we as voters and members of, agree is not how this system should be run. We vote for candidates who want to correct these values we see as either unfair, or just purposely enacted for the few to benefit. A candidate such as Sanders comes along we look to not to change, but but retain the same 'values' despised, yet are willing to keep because we fear what we want.
9
Good to see that the Times has the space and inclination to seriously examine the Sanders campaign for what it is, rather than trying to create a scapegoat for the Democrats to blame for a Biden loss. What' they'd say?
Yeah, this election is there for Biden to lose. There is a better atmosphere than in 2016, showing that the party at least acknowledges Sanders and his supporters have a legitimate beef, even as they keep that message muffled by excessive hand-wringing over democratic socialism and the misplaced fears over the downticket effects he might have had on the Dems.
Unless the Dems embrace much of the Sanders agenda, it's hard to see enough traction from the mantra of "Anyone but Trump." Biden may see that as change, but the voters often don't, including the majority of Americans who voted against Trump in 2016, when the party chose to accommodate Sen. Clinton and her enormous train of political baggage.
True, the right veep choice - Warren, not Klobuchar, for instance - could do much to keep Sanders voters engaged. Enough to beat Trump? Possibly, with the help of a pandemic. Ironically, that will make the case for Medicare for All that much stronger even as it undermines public faith in our reeling and crippled pay-to-play healthcare system.
12
Trump is linked to the spread of the virus and the dissolution of the structure to fight a pandemic. That and innumerable crimes, including economic treason, should be enough to defeat him across America. If we get to vote...
Let's not pillory Bernie for recognizing some good things that otherwise evil dictatorships have done. That's called nuance, and, like patience and other virtues, seems to be vanishing at Internet speed.
When I visited the Soviet Union in 1988, the regime which (along with Hitler) had previously killed 10% of its population had also built subways in Moscow and Leningrad that were -far- better than their counterparts in New York and Chicago - cleaner, cheaper, more frequent service, ran on time, with signs indicating how many minutes and seconds until the next train, no more than 5 minutes apart for much of the day. Yes, it was an ugly dictatorship, and I'm glad it's gone, but it did some good things.
With China, we have another brutal dictatorship, which spies on its people and locks Uighurs up in concentration camps. It killed 50-60 million people during its Cultural Revolution. But it ended almost-annual famines and floods that killed 5-10 million, made the vast majority literate, has brought 150-200 million people into the the middle class in the last 20 years, and we'll have to work with it to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
A movement, and its leaders, tries to improve society by opposing the status quo. Bernie is doing what he did in Burlington as mayor, stating maximalist positions in public, and then working out compromises to get things done.
That's nuanced, it's progressive, and I'd expect the same of a President Sanders.
9
@Aram Hollman I agree with virtually everything in your comment, but unfortunately you have left out the issue of framing. I don't recall Bernie's exact words in the 60 Minutes interview or in the last debate, but I do know that he seemed more concerned with proving that his assertions were factually correct than appeasing the legitimate fears of many voters (especially in Florida) about his apparent lifelong sympathy with Stalinist regimes. In his framing, he for-fronted Cuba's (undeniable) achievements in education and medicine, and conceded Cuba's "authoritarian" nature almost as an afterthought. If he cared more about winning the election and less about winning the argument, he would have apologized -- yes apologized -- for his previous framing of the issue and asserted forcefully that even education can be a tool of social control when freedom to read and write is severely restricted. In a debate where he needed to make a strong impression, imagine the headlines that would have garnered.
3
@Aram Hollman
Hi
Let me add something to this "nuanced" evaluation. Nuances are always good, but the do not cross fundamental categories. Any democracy is better than any dictatorship.
Within these categories there are a number of important distinctions and nuances. But no nuance and distinction makes a dictatorship better than the worst democracy.
That we need to understand.
1
@Alex Ross
I think you have not been watching the news and town halls. Bernie went on no less than 7 shows in 2 days and clearly articulated his rejection of authoritarian regimes right out of the gate.
3
America is a Second World Country
that is sliding toward being a Third World Country
for the bottom half of those in income.
But the Elites that support Biden could care less.
That Amy, Peter and Elizabeth all dropped out
just shows how powerful the DNC and the Elites are.
The pressure on Bernie to drop out so that Biden is
the anointed Nominee is the same thing that happened
in 2016 and could lead to the same result in November 2020.
Please stay in the race Bernie,
all the way to the Convention
and beyond.
10
@John Brown there you go again the same folks that gave us Trump
the Elites trope is getting tiresome
4
@JRV
Perhaps, JRV you are one of the Elites.
Biden is their servant.
The rich will stay rich and the poor will
get poorer under Biden or Trump.
2
Just because I didn’t vote for Bernie you dare categorize me?
I am decidedly a middle class worker with a college degree working a little more than paycheck to paycheck.
I cast my vote with no coercion from ANYONE, and in fact my first choice dropped from the race.
But the attitude you express, and so many Sanders’ supporters do, is insulting.
You’re all about “me” and not “us.”
That is elitist.
4
"no across-the-board denunciations of Bernie Bro harassment"
Anyone in the news business who keeps pushing this Bernie Bros conspiracy theory should be sued for journalistic malpractice. It's fake and has been debunked as such several times.
It's a very clever opposition ploy, but also very dirty campaigning. It works by spreading it around the Twitterverse and repeating it so often it becomes "true". No evidence required, except a bunch of "friend of a friend" stories that can't be checked out. The compliant press, always in the market for clickbait, especially if it's some good, divisive identity politics, picks up on it and gives it legs and respectability.
Then comes the knockout blow: the call for an apology from Sanders that creates a no-win situation for him. If he apologizes, he's admitting that this is actually happening and then it's set in stone and can be used against him for the remainder of the campaign. If he refuses to apologize, he's immediately cast as sexist and misogynist and that can be used against him for the remainder of the campaign. Brilliant.
We can thank the Hillary Clinton campaign for birthing this monster. It didn't work on Trump because it only works on honorable people who actually care that people think these things of them and are willing to address it and apologize for it. Trump's supporters, meanwhile, knew what they were getting and didn't care either.
6
@J.C. Seriously couldn't agree more. "no across-the-board denunciations of Bernie Bro harassment" isn't even exactly true; he did condemn online harrassment when it was brought up.
4
Bernie (along with the circumstances of the last three plus years) has moved the Democratic Party way to the left of where it was when Trump won, so in that sense, Bernie won the debate. But with all the Dems calling for a public option, Bernie’s failure to crank up the youth turnout, and the unending angry tone of his campaign (and its most ardent supporters) him getting the nod was always a long shot. Throw in a super virus and a tanking economy and it’s game over.
1
@Michael Malyszko I think Liz is a much better candidate for her appeal, grasp of issues, life of work.
Please.
Please.
Just one thing, stop calling Bernie or other mild democratic socialists/social democratics radical. Or as having radical policies. There's nothing radical about them, they're the norm right across Europe.
Just the U.S. is so very rightwing, and individualist, that there is barely a "society" to us looking in from outside. From Europe anyway.
Disarm the police (90% anyway), disarm the populace (apart from shotguns for licensed farmers etc), enact a free (at the point of use/need) health service, and give ALL kids the option to go to free 3rd level courses. Either uni or technical courses or apprenticeships.
It's NOT rocket science, not unachievable, and NOT radical.
Until then you're barely civil and hardly a society. Harsh yes. But tough love needs to be told
Massive stock market reform also needed. Some kind of timelock on trades or other high-tech mechanism to slow the gambling impulses of the investors. Stock markets should be providing relatively easy access to liquid capital for either growing or productive companies. Only (of course allowing for the long-term growth of the investment capital too). But very short (within day, or even within week) reselling is opportunistic and only negative for society.
We move slowly toward a ban cigarettes eventually, for societal good. We should ban short term stock trading too. Have a think about it.... And have a nice day
4
I lived in a country with free healthcare, affordable housing and free college etc
I am forever grateful I could ran away.
Free healthcare leads to expected ambulance time of an hour in the major city, immobilized stroke patients warehoused 20 ppl to a room, no diapers, with one aid per floor - in the major hospital, yes now as well.
And if you want to be treated in time, and by a reputable doctor - bribe. My aunt recently was refused "free" oncological surgery as it was not "cost effective due to her age - 67". The same surgery was happily done for payment.
Affordable housing is achieved by controlling where ppl can live, at 4 sq m per person.
And free college - huge bribes to get into the good colleges.
Thank you , but no, thanks.
Or - and ambulance outside of major city does not have oxygen supply.
8
@Maria It is rather difficult to evaluate the veracity of your claims, Maria, without knowing which country you come from. There are 195 countries in the world. Eighty-five percent of these countries have healthcare that is either free, universal, or both free and universal. The US is the ONLY developed country with healthcare that is neither free nor universal. So the gamut of countries with free/universal healthcare is vast -- including everyone from Zambia to Switzerland. The very real problems you described are almost certainly due to the level of socio-economic development of your native country rather than the fact that it has free healthcare. By withholding that information, you have weakened your case.
9
@Alex Ross I agree. Furthermore,when i see people saying that universal healthcare means longer waits, etc., what they're really saying is that it is necessary for some people to do without healthcare, in order for the rest of to have healthcare. In other words, they are demanding that others must be sacrificed for their benefit. That seems morally repugnant.
2
@Rita Prangle People in the US are very bad it seems at learning about other places. There are many systems of universal health care. Ours in MX combines public hospitals, free medical school for the qualified and to get doctors to rural areas, a huge variety of private and public combos, fanciest doctor and hospital you want to pay for as well as pharmacies with $5 USD medical consults. Works pretty well.
2
There are two America’s right now. The boomers still depend on traditional outlets like the Times. The under 45 don’t because they have proven disingenuous and biased.
I’ll give an example. Sanders called Biden our for printing austerity and considering social security, medicare, veterans benefits on the table when republicans were pushing for it. Yet where are the facts checks like they do on Trump. Instead excuses.
If Sanders had lied would they have attacked him? Of course they wood.
Another example is asking Sanders to drop out. If the roles were reversed would they have asked the opponent to Sanders to drop out or fight on because they could still win or potentially have the DNC crown?
We see the bias. It’s totally obvious.
Also Hiding Bidens flaws will be a serious problem in the upcoming election. It will lend validity to republicans to call the Times etc fake news. Why? Because they are ignore lies when it’s their favored candidate and attack those they disagree with.
They also complain and attack progressives constantly. Every progressive is now a Bernie Bro. Yet they don’t care about the bundlers that scream and attack with their moment in silence. One group has no money and uses their voice and the only tools they have. The other uses their money to legally bribe people like Biden yet they see no problem with the money Bros. They are nicer I guess though their actions cause massive suffering. But the Bernie Bros are far more dangerous.
3
There's not much point in even mentioning Bernie now. Democrats are going to be stuck with Biden. Whether Bernie's fans are able to pin their noses tightly enough to vote for Biden will be of some interest though.
3
Bernie raised very valid points and eventually every American will have medical coverage guaranteed as a right ; just not now . That the wealth of this country is concentrated in the hands of the very few and the sweat on the working class brows gives them just enough to survive is a wrong that needs to be addressed also . What Bernie and his campaign missed , was the intractability of his political stand and the appearance of " my way or the highway " philosophy that just simply did not attract the other voters to him . It is said we are our own worse enemy ; and it is true for the ardent Bernie supporter as well as the non-supporter . Bernie should have run as a socialist or Independent and not as a Democrat and the visuals of trying to destroy the Democratic party as we all had a view of what Trump did to the Republican party . He might have had better success with the rest of the voting public without appearing as a cult figure of the Bernie Bros .
5
I like Bernie but he's not recognizing this historical moment.
The state of our country is dire. Even before this pandemic, Trump & McConnell were ignoring the law, corrupting our
government & installing an unqualified far-right judiciary.
Watch the latest episode of AXIOS on HBO featuring an interview w/ James Clyburn, whose endorsement propelled Biden to victory.
Clyburn repeatedly invokes 1932 Germany, claiming he understands how Hitler came to power - because Germans didn't object. Clyburn's estimation of Trump is an existential threat & danger to this country. Clyburn believes Biden can beat Trump. End of story.
Watching Clyburn talk about Trump reminded me of Richard Clarke saying "My hair is on fire!" before 9/11. (Clarke believed Al Qaeda was going to attack us.)
It would behoove Bernie to stop thinking - & announcing - the Democratic establishment is out to get him because his revolutionary ideas threaten them.
The Democratic establishment - & voters - voted for Biden en masse because they believe Biden can beat Trump & Bernie can't.
Bernie, like Warren, is so caught up in "big structural changes" that he seems to overlook Trump & McConnell are burning down the house.
We can't beat Trump w/ a nominee who says good things about Castro.
Bernie's misapprehending this moment in history. We just can't afford him. Biden's the closest thing to a sure bet.
Anything to get Trump out of office. If that means Biden's the nominee, so be it.
19
@fast/furious
Remember when Hillary Clinton was a sure bet? When are people going to stop this "electability" guessing game and just vote for the candidate they want? You're just going to keep getting it wrong.
If it doesn't give pause to people that Joe Biden had no support and was coming in 4th and 5th place before South Carolina, it definitely should. Everybody is jumping on this "electable" band wagon and not learning any lessons from the past.
Biden stands for nothing, so he gives people no reason to vote for him, except "not Trump". That's should have you worried.
4
@J.C. If voters were convinced that Bernie could beat Trump, they would flock to him. But they aren't. And the polls and the primaries suggest they are right. Bernie has earned a rightful place as a prophet of the future. But there isn't going to be a future if we don't fix the present. Splintering the anti-Trump vote is akin to what happened in Germany in 1932. A luxury we can't afford.
3
@fast/furious
No, not at all.
If you sit down and actually think through
Bernie's plans, they offer hope to most Americans.
Biden will throw the Poor a few scraps and then go
back to serving the Elites.
Most American would vote for Bernie if his message,
undistorted by the Elites,
was actually heard and understood.
Bernie cleaned Biden's clock in the last debate.
No reason to think the Republicans won't flood
the airwaves with the same points and demonstrate
that Biden is but a tool of the Elites.
4
There was massive voter suppression in primaries, all in favor of Biden. 750 polling stations were closed in Texas in poor areas where Latinos lived, who would have voted for Bernie. Exit polls were out by over 4% all favouring Biden. U.S. is an oligarchy. Democratic party would prefer Trump as President than Bernie as President. Biden will lose to Trump, he has got cognitive decline and Trump will expose this and a history of lying.
12
If voter suppression was the underlying reason for Sanders defeat please explain the ,massive African American turnout.
2
Apart from not getting much done because of his “one trick” ideological bent, not mentioned in this article is Bernie’s support for Pakistan just because his campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, happens to be of Pakistani origin.
Bernie supports Castro, Ortega - both lethal dictators - but criticizes India, a democratic country and culture with no history of enslaving or mass killing dictators. On the other hand he has nothing to say about terrorist organizations and terrorism coming out of Pakistan.
Bernie is just an ideological opportunist with no practical problem solving skills.
Medicare for All would be great if doctors are government employees and hospitals are owned by the government and “Death” panels ration care. Without cost control, it’s another expensive inefficient government program.
8
Did America Misjudge Bernie Sanders? Or Did He Misjudge America?
It's slightly more complicated than that: Bernie's supporters have wildly misjudged about half of America--there's just no way half of us will allow Lenin's heir to run--i.e., ruin-- the country. Either electorally or by taking scissors to the map, Bernie was never going to be our president.
The rest of us, of course, have certainly not misjudged Bernie--he's a fanatic who would have fit right in with the Russian Bolsheviks of a century, and would have brought to America the same destruction the Bolsheviks, after 70 years, brought to the Soviet Union.
7
@Henry Miller, Libertarian
You are all imagination, no facts. Typical Republican.
1
Bernie won't become the next President or even the Democratic Party's nominee. That seems nearly certain to me and I am a Sanders Democrat. So, where do we Sanders Democrats go from here?
My answer is I will vote on November 3, and I will vote for the Democratic nominee because I am an FDR Democrat as well as a Sanders Democrat.
Am I disappointed with the Democratic Party? You bet I am.
Then why support the Democratic Party? It may be disappointing but the Republican Party is evil. Our only hope is to take control of both the Senate and the White House.
17
In a campaign dominated by herd journalism, this is an excellent price by Robert Draper.
The point that needs to be remembered is that Bernie's real strength in this race was the sheer number of his opponents dividing up the majority of the party to his advantage, not his movement. Outside of Nevada, there was really nothing impressive for him. Buttigieg beat him in Iowa and almost beat him in New Hampshire which was Bernie's backyard (and Buttigieg would have won NH were it not for Amy's late surge). And then he got walloped in SC.
To me the (unanswerable) question is what if Amy's Nevada debate melt down had occurred before NH putting her out of the race and what if we had not the vanity distractions of the two billionaires. How might have a 4 way race between Biden, Bernie, Buttigieg and Warren have played out? I think that would have been a better scenario for the voters and the party. My sense is that low information voters (who are most voters) got no help from the large number of candidates and the heavy advertising from the billionaire class.
10
Actually America misjudges what America needs. Again and again.
21
Judging by the comments, nobody really bothered reading the article. What it depicts is a decent human being and that rarest of things -- a politician that actually cares for other people.
23
@Claudio Even those of us who don't want to be "cared for" by government. "Care for" is what you do for pets, children, and those incapable of managing their own lives, which is what seems to think of the average American.
4
@Claudio go to the oldest comments, 90 percent are extremely pro Bernie and the recommended likes.
4
Bernie won't quit until Trump is re-elected. Bernie's ego prevents him from acknowledging his own poor record on gun control and the fact that his my-way-or-the-highway quest for political purity (along with his total unawareness of power relationships in politics) has led him to waste decades in Congress without getting anything done.
On the very outside chance Bernie were to be elected president, does he really think he will 1) have coattails and 2) be able to put together the coalitions necessary for enacting his agenda?
His campaign slogan should be "Get Real!"
14
@Joe
Whether you agree with him or not, just look at his record and you will see that he has always fought for a better deal for all. His Medicare for All proves that, especially today.
Forget about the Politics for a moment, look at the consistency of any Politicians record. Whether you agree with them or not, Bernie has always being consistent. You cannot trust what most Politicians say and do and rarely know where their funding comes from and that funding dictates their loyalties.
Regardless of your Politics, you have to respect, not necessarily agree with, those rare politicians who stand on Principle and fight for, at least what they think, is right, by fulfilling their Democratic pledge to voters.
You and I then know what we are getting and instead of getting crumbs from the table of most Politicians, we can instead sit down and have the full meal with them.
Blind Loyalty to any cause makes us a lesser people. I wish more people had Bernie Sander's "ego"
6
@Joe That good honest compassionate Democrats like Obama, Biden, Howard Dean John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton,and now, Bernie Sanders, have been completely neutralized by the right wing power structure is the strongest reason why America needs big political changes, big economic changes, and big social changes
7
"radical vision " ... yea health care for everyone.. real radical .. But Trump stacking the courts with ultra right judges. The 750 billion defense budget. Polluting everything in sight .. that's not radical, that's ok
14
@Doctor Woo Trump wouldn't have got his 750 million budget passed without democratic party voting for it. Bernie voted against it.
4
@Doctor Woo Every democratic candidate was for healthcare for all. Sanders specifically touted Medicare for all, a solution that created needless distracting debate among candidates, and gave fodder to attacking Republican's and right wing media, all so Sanders could differentiate himself and stand on his holier than though horse. Moreover, it was unlikely that Sanders could ever pass this solution so all about his political theater to rally his naive impractical supporters. It would be one thing if we were starting from scratch but we have to work to modify a complicated and flawed existing system that evolved long ago. Obama care as well is flawed but it is a start in the right direction. That said, Medicare is also a flawed system as is healthcare for veterans. Cooler and smarter heads than Sanders need to come together to figure out a better way. Sanders would rather propose simple-minded slogans.
1
America understands Bernie very well. That's the good news. Thank Goodness it's over.
14
@Ash
Nothing is over until Biden wins. If you think that's a sure thing, think again. Biden has as many negatives as Sanders.
Bernie would be labelled a Socialist/Marxist/Communist by Trump, and be defeated in a general election. His best route is to withdraw, particularly if Biden wins all 3 states in the next primaries, support him enthusiastically and get as many of his followers to do so. The main Democratic focus should to defeat Trump, soundly, retain the House and possibly regain the Senate.
10
@turbot Thereby tearing the country apart, just like a previous president did 160 years ago.
@turbot
Bernie doesn't get his supporters to do anything. They don't take commands, like moderates have done, all jumping on the Biden bandwagon when they're told to. Progressives do or don't of their own free will.
2
@J.C. That's why Trump is currently president.
Bernie is hung up on his single mined issue and refuses to make it more gradual or even consider alternatives to get to a universal health care system. Medicare coverage is also rather incomplete without a Medi-gap add-on. Copays up to 20%, lack of ability of patients to negotiate surprise bills, and lack of direct coverage for glasses and dental work. Lastly, when you need long-term care, Medicare bugs out after 125 days. The patient is then completely impoverished, his/her estate squandered, and relegated to a remaining life of abject care and indignity as a ward of the state. Bernie, we can do better and Biden shows a willingness to try.
9
Bernie's electoral experience in America is typical. Bernie just lost every single County in Mississippi, Missouri and Michigan in the Democratic primaries because voters will not voluntarily vote for socialism. There is not one single country in the world which is both socialist and democratic. Socialism is a system which simply does not work and therefore people do not vote for socialism. Despite losing the primaries by a huge margin in the democratic votes Bernard will not concede defeat because Bernie is a socialist. Is Bernard a democrat? Quite apparently not so much.
10
@David
After today's, Tuesday-March 17th-results in Arizoina, Illinois, and Florida, it will be incredibly obvious where the American electorate is trending.
They're rejectinhg Sanders, knowing fully Trump is licking his chops, knife and fork in hand, as he settles in and embraces the notion of how easily he'll get to carve up Sanders if Sanders wins the Democratic primary nod to run for president, all the while with Trump insuring his re-election.
3
@merc
You think he won't do that to Sleepy Joe? Do you folks really think Biden isn't going to get shredded, or that Trump is going to take it easy on him? Just wait and see. And what if Joe is having one of his "off days"?
2
Excellent article. We often get 2-D characterizations of politicians, nice to see the 3-D version. In the last debate Sanders was lower key and more likable. He has done a lot to move the party and even the opposition to the left. If Biden wins, his proposals will have an outsized impact.
10
Bernie better do a much better job of supporting the Democratic nominee so they can beat Trump.
9
And I think the entire country should treat the candidate with the policies we need to survive fairly and not lie about access to healthcare being too radical. It is a basic cornerstone of civilization. This candidate fighting for us and not only the wealthy, deserves our respect and support.
14
@Lilly A "survive fairly" requires consensus of the governed. Please define.
2
I'm really sad that right-of-center Biden will probably be the Democratic candidate. First, I don't think he's particularly electable. That is, I think there's a good chance Trump will win. And second, if Biden becomes president, the rich will continue to get richer and the poor will continue to get poorer. I'll vote for him only because I can't stand Trump's gratuitous cruelty.
19
@Jenifer Wolf Biden is not right of center. He's a moderate dem, where most of the country is on the political spectrum.
8
And did you know you only think that because you’re brainwashed to think that? Doesn’t that fact make you feel manipulated? Because you are. Have you ever traveled outside the States? I have. I’ve lived in Japan and France. I’ve gotten better healthcare there than I have here. And it was free. As a foreigner. You’ve been lied to. We all have. And the rest of the world feels sorry for you. Once you know that, you fight for Sanders, who is fighting for you.
9
@jdl51
By the old standards, when we actually had a Democrat Party of The People, starting with FDR, Biden is definitely right of center. The party has shifted to the right to that degree. Haven't you noticed, or are you trying not to?
3
Bernie's the BEST America's going to get for a LONG time. Too bad it wasn't ready.
20
America is ‘ready’. People are literally dying. The ones who aren’t yet, or who are doing barely well enough, even if they are one paycheck away from disaster or homelessness, have been brainwashed into thinking this is 1. all they deserve, and 2. as good as it gets, 3. America is the best - in any way. We are being told a story that’s not true. If you’ve lived in other countries, you know Americans are being lied to. Oh, America is ready. The ones who set the story, the ones who are doing the brainwashing, they are the ones not ‘ready’...
5
@Lilly
That includes this very newspaper, whose op-ed section is nothing but propaganda for business interests and the centrist politicians who support those interests.
2
Bernie is unfortunately ahead of his time. And people are so panicked they want the "safe" candidate - but Biden is as dottering as Trump, just not as mean. Bernie would bring the US into the rest of the industrialized world. Too bad if people just don't get it. And hopefully the young won't just twitter - they will VOTE!
18
It's been my theory that many of the abusive Bernie Bros were not that dedicated to Bernie personally but were using him as a vehicle to wrest control of the party from moderates. Now that Bernie has pledged to fully support & campaign for the Democratic nominee we will see where their loyalty really lies.
8
And I think the so-called abusive Sanders supporters are not actually Sanders supporters. I’ve canvassed and know supporters all over the country never met a single person who didn’t adhere to the directives directly from Bernie to be respectful of everyone.
10
@Phil Rubin
Your theory might hold some water if there were actually such a thing as Bernie Bros. It's a campaign tool created by the Clinton people. It was never a real thing, and there is reliable research to prove that. Look it up.
3
@J.C. I'm sorry, but the Bernie bros are real. They are my former friends who succumbed to a cult of personality in 2016. They spewed so many toxic, insane, Alex Jones style conspiracy theories about establishment dems, including jaw-dropping displays of naked misogyny, that I can no longer associate with them. Nor will I ever forgive them. I believe they were effectively manipulated by the Putin assisted right, but they exist. Look, supporting the democratic establishment does not feel like justice, but it is the best way to improve our government. Sorry, that's just the way it is.
1
People who aren't in the progressive movement continually display an ignorance of it, and depict it as a cult of personality around Bernie Sanders. It's not about Bernie. It was growing before Bernie ran in 2016 and it will continue to grow after 2020. Bernie is the current conduit, but he won't be the last. In some ways, he's not a great conduit because he's frankly not a great candidate, but his place in history is secure. He is setting the agenda for the future and we will thank him for that.
Anyone who doesn't understand the true state of the country and the world, and doesn't understand that something "radical" needs to be done about it, has their head in the sand. You can't ignore it and you can't continue to kick the can down the road.
That makes older people uncomfortable, and they vote against it for their own comfort and feeling of security. Those are the "getting rid of Trump is the ONLY thing that matters" voters. No, it's not the only thing that matters. Not even close.
I'm angry at older voters who cast votes for what makes them feel safe and comfortable in the moment and have no eye on the future. That's a selfish vote. You're not going to be around to pay the piper for your votes. You might want to give some thought to those of us who will be.
We need you to think differently about this. What you fear as "extreme" and "radical" is simply what is necessary for us to have a decent future in this country and on this planet.
21
@J.C. The candidate who should've taken over the progressive movement, if there truly is one, is Elizabeth Warren. But Sanders and his campaign treated her rather shabbily.
If Sanders was truly about his ideas, he'd have let someone else carry the banner.
But he's always all about Bernie.
@Robert G. K.
Sanders didn't start any fights with Warren. Just the opposite. He didn't repeat any "private conversations" in order to do damage to his campaign. She did that to him. She hasn't acted with integrity. She still has her supporters, but she's dead to a lot of progressives.
No viable candidate is going step aside for a much less viable candidate. Is that what you mean by treating her shabbily? That he didn't get out of the race so she could get more votes? That's ludicrous. She came in third in her home state. If she can't win on the merits, that's not anyone's problem but her own.
1
@J.C. People who ARE in the progressive movement continually display an ignorance of American political history. We have been fighting with everything we have since the '60s. The revolution is not coming. Ever heard of Dennis Kucinich?
Put your energy into a political coalition with folks that are more conservative than you. That will require you to sacrifice your ideals. But it could help save our country.
Yes, America misjudged Bernie Sanders. You can't find a person with more integrity. Jimmy Carter has integrity. Ralph Nader has integrity. Marianne Williamson has integrity. Biden? He's a Politician through and through, and I'm sad to see Sen. Sanders get so close but go down in defeat, when he could have made life better for so many Americans.
20
@Diane I'll never forgive Ralph Nader for the defeat of Al Gore. We'd be in a whole different place today with the Climate Crisis if not for self-righteous Nader. And with endless wars. Gore was campaigning about climate change when everyone made fun of him. Then he got panned for flying in jets when he campaigned. Inexcusable.
America was not ready for Sanders. But I'm thinking his proposals will get enacted very soon if we have the House, Senate, and Presidency, that is, unless the Republicans win again. Then we're done with Democracy and it all goes out the window. Bernie knows this, too.
9
@Kathleen
The 97,000 votes Nader won (of which where evenly split in thirds by D's, R's 'n I's) are a footnote compared to the 308,000 votes Bush won from registered Fla. Dems. Or compared to the 1 million D's that stayed home. Or compared to the other 8 3rd. party candidates that all won over the 538 needed to win. Or compared to the SCOTUS, the Chads, the purged voter rolls, the thousands uncounted etc. etc.
Give up the senseless Nader hatred. It's wasted and ignorant. It's always your own centrist's that defect in the most numbers and lose it for D's.
1
The coronavirus has shown us how much the country needs every idea Bernie has championed. Universal health care: the virus doesn’t care who you are. State sponsored childcare: it’s the state that’s now guaranteeing the kids of firefighters, hospital workers etc will be looked after while they work, at least in NY. Paid sick leave: it took this virus to bring the importance of this home.
Yes, America has misjudged Sanders. He didn’t do himself any favors by waving the democratic socialist flag; as if the average voter has the attention span to figure out what that’s all about.
The young people got it. They’ll have larger representation after the virus is through with us.
11
People want change, not tired old ideas. So they weren't satisfied, elected Obama, still not satisfied, elected Trump.
Who's promising a difference from the way things have been throughout this millennium now?
4
When Sanders challenged Biden over the fact that he hadn't supported an increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Biden answered: "I went to Jeff Bezos to get his approval but he wants to build a floating city in the sky, and can't do so if forced to give workers a decent wage. . . . Everyone told Bezos the idea is unworkable but he's gotten hold of this notion . . . He has promised me an apartment in he new city, so win-win."
3
I'm going to two extremely radical things here.
Bernie Sanders, due to the pandemic, should step aside for Joe Biden.
Normally I would say let democracy play out. That I am a fan of Sanders and a 2016 Bernie Bro. That Sanders and his followers support ideas that are too important simply to silence.
But considering the health of our electorate, Sanders should do the mature thing and step down.
The second even more radical idea is that if the Pandemic is still going... or if it is worse, that the November Election should be postponed too... Maybe to January or March 2021.
Or should be done entirely mail in.
Yes, President Donald Trump is the worst President in American history. Yes, his administration has been utterly incompetent in handling Coronavirus. Yes, postponement would feed his authoritarian tendencies.
But social distancing is incredibly difficult standing in line to vote. The elderly and most vulnerable are the most consistent voters. And the continuity of leadership, even incompetent leadership, is comforting in troubled times.
While voting is a heroic action for democracy, voting should not be a life endangering heroic action.
8
The constitution contains no provision to keep the current president (or VP) in office beyond his term unless he has won re-election BEFORE the current term ends. If there were no 2020 election, then the next in line would step in — whoever that turned out to be.
2
@Harry I don't think the constitution contains any provision for postponing an election, either, and yet it might turn out to be necessary, under some circumstances, even if not under these circumstances. The common sense thing would be to just grit our teeth and let the current occupant stay in office until very shortly after the election. One alternative would be to turn it over the the Speaker of the House. Or possibly a steering committee could be formed to manage things.
It would probably be simpler to hold the elections, taking all kinds of precautions, encouraging early voting and voting by mail and so on. A lot depends on the trajectory of the epidemic in this country.
@Hypoteneus Look at the coronavirus map. Now look at the majority Blue areas. See any overlap? Now ask why Trump and those behind him, like McConnell and who knows who else are just dragging their feet on containing it. If it wipes out the most reliable voters, the elderly, they just want to foot drag even more. Now they are leaving getting respirators up to the individual states. The states were blindsided, waiting for the feds to act.
If this were happening primarily in red states, you bet we'd have effective action. Yesterday.
3
Well, I voted for Bernie in 2016, as I could see early on that Hillary Clinton was going to be a train wreck. I honestly think he would have beaten Trump if he had succeeded in that primary. But in the ensuing 4 years, Bernie has gone still further left, and lost my support. I supported Warren, but will now have little choice but to support Biden. If Biden fails to achieve anything as president, which he surely will if the republicans keep the senate, and likely will even if that is not the case, then 2024 will see him challenged by a modern day Lenin on the left and Hitler on the right.
13
"Did America Misjudge Bernie Sanders? Or Did He Misjudge America?" One can say both exist simultaneously. But it's more the latter. And Bernie is obstinate in his insistence. He doesn't care how many people he alienates.
He repeatedly insists these things have been done in other countries like those in the Nordic region. But their models are less liberal. He seems to imply that this is only a natural progression to The New Deal of FDR. That part is actually credible.
But in the 1980s, a former New Dealer, Ronald Reagan reversed course and went about the opposite way. (A critical factor here is that Bernie is no FDR, nor Reagan. Unlike these two, he can’t move masses though he did move youngsters in 2016 & this time around) And we are still in the Reagan era, which calls for tax-cuts for the rich and cuts in safety-net programs.
In a white majority country where far too many whites fear of losing their privileges, Reagan managed to scapegoat blacks as the undeserving welfare recipients – remember the “welfare queen?” Any suggestion of tax-hike on the rich will be (rather passively/silently but firmly and effectively) countered by gaslighting-like arguments that “your hard-earned money” will be wasted on unnecessary things.
6
@A.G. Exactly. The idea that Sanders could withstand sustained G.O.P. attacks of "Fidel Sanders" and "former Bolshevik" among the middle, the independent voters, is pure fantasy, as Democrats from Maine to Washington to Texas to Minnesota to Florida all realize.
It's over, Sanders.
When you get out in front of the parade, such that the trombone section loses sight of your coattails, you will become an irrelevance.
I am tired of repeating the most basic principle of electoral politics. You have to WIN the election!
Promising ponies and lollipops does not work in a general. Fifteen point slides and charts and budget analysis and future striped ponies are useless.
Sanders is no different than other visionaries who don't understand why everyone doesn't see that he has all the answers.
"Join me and we'll all have cake and ice cream and single payer and free homes and free college and every thing I plan for y'all to enjoy".
Dust bins of history. I wish Richard Ben Cramer was still with us to put his thumb on these mooks.
4
@P.C.Chapman How quickly Americans forgot how left wing the campaign agenda of Obama and Biden was in 2008. After eight years of Bush-Cheney the entire world wanted big progressive changes in the US. For whatever set of reasons, Obama-Biden failed big time. That's why Trump was elected. By proposing radical left wing changes, Sanders and his supporters do not expect revolution. They are hoping for a decent, reasonable move to the left that should have been done 12 or more years ago.
14
@Lawrence Chanin The Sanders-Biden debate highlighted the futility of a Trump-Biden general election. It will be an election about nothing. The result will be a strengthening of the far right.
5
@Lawrence Chanin I hope you don't try to tell them that they don't really want a revolution. You might get some negative feedback on that.
Bernie, though well meanin is ignorant about lots of things.
He seem suprised lin last night's debate when Biden mentioned that during the 2008 financial crisis that the banks were saved no to necessarly save the banks but to save the financial system and keep the economy working. Not to mention saving the stockholders. Some the largest stockholds are pension funds. Guess Bernie wanted retired little old ladies to lose their income?
Bernie also does not get that countries in Europe and else where can afford lavish social spending because their defense is provided for by the US taxpayer and soldier. And drug prices are so high in the US because we end up paying for all the R&D without which no new miracle drugs.
Bernie also does not get that the high standard of living Americans enjoyed WWII - 1970 /1980 was a historica and ecomonic anomoly. Most people throughout history has lived subsistance lives. And with globalization and the labor glut that kind of life for most Americans will return.
9
@Reader In Wash, DC
The banks shouldn't have been given a blank check, with no strings attached, and allowed back in the casino without consequence. That's pretty much what happened.
Globalization was a choice, not an inevitability. Moving jobs overseas was about greed, not what was best for America. We have the means to bring everyone in this country out of subsistence living, but our corrupt political system won't allow that to happen. That's why some form of bloodless revolution is necessary now. The people whom we trusted with running our country have run it into the ground.
4
Bernie has always wanted to turn this into a socialist country and as an opportunist, thought this was his chance to do it. Nothing else explains why he decided to run for President so late after getting nearly nothing done in Senate. It's always been about him and his ego and his insistence that the most important thing is to get rid of Trump doesn't match his single-minded behavior. For many, if not most of his supporters, there is no supporting anyone but him and he knows it. It's his (their) way or the highway and he/they aren't interested in any type of compromise. All the other people who ran for the Democratic nomination dropped out when the writing was on the wall but not Bernie, he's determined to force Biden to adopt his policies--doesn't sound like getting rid of Trump is really his first priority.
11
You did not read the article, did you?
5
Bernie's leadership qualities, or lack thereof, were quickly demonstrated last night when asked about what he would do to help the country fight the coronavirus. His response of taxing the rich and destroying the pharmaceutical companies, the same companies that are now working overtime to find a cure and vaccine for the virus, demonstrated for all both his tone deafness and his separation from reality.
Maybe Bernie should look in the mirror and realize that both he and his message are the problem, not all the corrupt bogeyman that are out there trying to stop his moral crusade.
11
@philly
Bernie looks past tomorrow. Unfortunately, most people can't and vote accordingly, to the detriment of our country.
To deny our government is corrupt is to deny reality. A little morality couldn't hurt. It's weird that you're so angrily against that.
2
@J.C. We may be dead by "past tomorrow."
As for my morality, cast more stones, divider.
I like Bernie but not enough people do for him to beat Trump. And that's the only agenda item this year for any Democrat and, yes, for any true American.
5
All I can say is life is much easier now knowing I won't have to worry about who I'll vote for in November because I'm so over it.
6
Bernie is a typical far left liberal. CAN'T STAND BUSINESS and EVIL CAPITALISTS. But he is 1st in line to get his hands on their money and spend it. Spending money is great fun when it's someone else's.
6
@Reader In Wash, DC Well, you're going to get what's coming to you in time. My grandpa was a great man, he owned the big property with an airfield that I live on right now. He was a self made man who bought and rented out properties and lived on his own, flying us in his airplanes when we were kids. He was also a pure capitalist who hated the idea of taxes going to social programs. When he started to get dementia and couldn't make decisions for himself anymore, instead of taking care of him and keeping him here my mostly hard conservative family pushed him out into a nursing home, sold his planes and divvied up his property. He died alone in a nursing home and now I'm one of the few who thinks about him as I live in one of his houses and occasionally walk down his airfield.
That was the ignoble fate he suffered under the right wing system of "get your own money and take care of yourself, or else." I doubt you're even a third as successful as he was, so I wonder how sad your karmic end days will be all because you hated the "far left liberal" systems that are meant to take care of everyone when their personal situations go badly downhill and they suddenly become powerless.
5
@Colin This is about your family, not country and capitalism.
When 40 Republicans can't even vote to allow American's to be tested free for the Corona Virus and the media hardly mention it, you begin to realise who sets the agenda in American Politics and the divisiveness that exists. Stock markets crashing and the virus rampant and Wall Street and the Pharma's dictating to the President on putting profits before people. Logic would tell you that enough is enough and it is time to put the majority of American people first. The future is uncertain and the most important thing you can have is your health, not profits. You need to protect that. Bernie Sanders has been passionate about those people for over 30 years, he has being fighting for his people when others were laughing at him but he still moved the Agenda. Joe Biden is a good man but he is compromised by Wall Street. Whether you are a white person , African American, Latino or lucky enough to have youth on your side, you cannot afford to compromise your Health.
AMERICA misjudged Bernie Sanders because they refused to debate the issues. At least he can home at night and say "he did his best" You get what you vote for.
P.S. I think it is crazy that the Dem Primaries are being held over the next couple of weeks
12
I am a hardcore Dem and libeal who won't vote for Bernie for a number of reasons that others have identified in their comments. It is his hypocrisy that bugs me the most. Notice how in 2016 he railed against millionaires and billionaires and now that he is a millionaire he only rails against billionaires, some of whom have done more for society and the truly disadvantaged than he could ever dream of doing (Bill Gates, for one). But, it is his rape essay, written when he was in his thirties that is absolutely disqualifying. His breast cancer essay, written in the same publication is also disgusting. I first read them in Mother Jones, who did a story on them during the 2016 election cycle. If he had been 15, I could get over it, but he was a full grown man. I urge everyone who supports him to find those essays and read them.
7
The comments in this thread reveal a very common misunderstanding of politics. The job description of candidate is entirely different from that of president. The first job gets you elected. The second job influences and leads. The further misunderstanding inherent in the Bernie people is that the first one doesn’t matter. That’s just authoritarianism repackaged for the left. So, yes, they are correct, the parties are the same - Bernie’s Democrats and trump’s republicans. That’s why they will take trump over Biden.
7
This is not accurate. It’s not surprising because DNC Democrats seem to share the characteristics of the equivalent of ‘mansplaining’ to Progressives, Millennials and Independents thinking process. The levels of hubris and misplaced sense of superiority is simply astonishing.
9
You actually need us. And we need the policies of Sanders.
1
@Lilly Nope. We don't. It's not Bernie's way or the highway. He's tried that approach and gotten nowhere. Why do his acolytes persist in making such demands?
Politics is about compromises that make things happen. Big ideals are fine. But great leaders make things happen that are possible now and then go from there.
That's the career of Joe Biden, who gets real change accomplished.
I phone banked for Bernie in 2016, donated to his campaign, and voted for him in the primary. All this while knowing he could not win.
Unfortunately, he eschewed "identity politics' (a slur created by conservatives to denigrate anyone who isn't a straight white man) rather than see them for what they are: coalition politics. No candidate can win the primary without the majority support of women and black people--thogh we are not monoliths as groups of people, we are the backbone of the Democratic Party. This is both historical and statistical fact. Conspiracy theories that the DNC was out to get him don't hold water when you look at the breakdown of votes in both 2016 and 2020.
He also made a strategic error in 2016 in not supporting Clinton the second it became clear that he was not the candidate, and not calling off his Internet army of Bernie Bros who only became worse over time. Followers take cues from their leaders, after all.
2020, I was all in for Warren but will vote for him in the primary now even though I know he can't win. He should have done everything that he could have done to win the base in the past four years but he didn't, and that was his downfall.
17
@Valerie I agree with you. For Sanders it has always been "my way or the highway". It never occurs to him that if everyone thought that way we would get nowhere, which is what would happen if he became President. No progress would be made, he would be a one term President, and Republicans would be back in office.
14
@Valerie He campaigned for Hillary extensively even though the DNC had been openly trying to sabotage him. His supporters are not disproportionately male, and the whole bernie-bro thing has been exposed as a lie. There's no internet army of bernie-bros that are under his control. What could he possibly gain from covertly controlling an army of people harassing people on twitter? Over and over again people are hiding a dislike of his politics behind basically phony criticisms, which is strange. If you're against medicare for all or free college, just say so, plenty of people are. "I'd be for these things but a random person was being mean on twitter so now I'm going to vote Biden" is just a really bizarre way to think. It's also really strange to have your politics hinge on the opinions of black people in the south. Whether or not black people support the candidate I favor is not going to change my support of him.
11
@MK "There's no internet army of bernie-bros that are under his control." Oh yes there are. Don't try to gaslight us and tell us who have been dealing with their venom for a year that we didn't live through what we did.
"What could he possibly gain from covertly controlling an army of people harassing people on twitter?" He thought he was going to win power through bullying. It worked for Trump. Democrats however are not as easy to cow.
1
Bernie isn't radical, this country has just allowed the far right to dominate conversations for so long people don't recognize the center.
28
@Keith It’s up to voters to decide what’s Left, Right, and Center. This changes some over time. Democracy sets the level. If voters continually vote out a specific party then it’s up to that party to change. This is why a Democrat in North Carolina is not the same as a Democrat in California for instance. Additionally, what’s progressive in America may be conservative in another country. That does not mean it’s center or conservative here though. It’s up to our populace to decide.
4
@Keith Actually, Bernie is radical in many positions. He wants workers to own 20 percent of all corporations and said workers to have 45 percent of seats on corporate boards. Some European countries (notably, Germany and Sweden) have these so-called co-determination policies re: boards , especially boards of very large companies (this means they have worker representation on boards) but note that there is a higher level of worker representation on the less-powerful "supervisory boards" as opposed to "management boards" (highest level); and the head of the management board, who has veto power, is a shareholder rather than a worker. In a nutshell: Bernie goes FARTHER than the most progressive of these countries do, and these policies have been evolving in Europe since the 1920s. So, yeah, he's left of Europe. And he's not center or center left on other policies, too -- he won't allow private insurance. Germany does. France does. The problem isn't that his policies are all bad or shouldn't be introduced in some form, but they can't be enacted and imposed -- bam! -- the Bernie way, which is all or nothing, my way or the highway, I'm always right period. The country doesn't work like that; for better or worse.
But if people read the article they’d realize that Bernie’s “words” or rhetoric by which he is judged and his actual leadership style, which was shown to be in both Burlington and the Senate amenable to compromise or at least open-minded on the basis of what was best for the community, are two different things, and this article describes his in-office activities as “center-left.” What Jane Sanders says later in the article about their primary platform is that why not put forward what we believe in the primaries, if not the general election...you can question this stuff strategically but I gather from these comments and others I’ve read that people have either not read the article or disregarded its information or perspectives.
1
The campaign to marginalize Sanders and the restoration of democracy he represents is in full swing. Even the title and image of this article are part of that bias. Taxation for corporations and billionaires is coming, and it’s only a matter of when.
23
@Skip Bonbright Voters selecting Biden is democracy in action.
5
I am getting weary of those, including Sanders, who believe that the establishment is out to get Sanders. Sanders is losing because his supporters aren’t voting in the primaries. That isn’t difficult to understand, just look at the numbers.
8
I do NOT want for President:
—Anyone who HASN'T changed and evolved over the last 20 years.
—Anyone so myopic that they can't gauge where their ideas lie on the continuum between Real and Ideal. Ideas like Sanders' are great. But, if Democrats don't win the Senate, Obamacare will fail ultimately because it hasn't been refined, improved, updated for 10 years for fear the Republicans will eliminate it entirely. Medicare for All? Not happening. He only hurt himself with his rigidity.
—Anyone that similar to Trump in temperament. Sanders is a nasty old man who won't be challenged by anyone, won't respond to questions, gets angry at questions he doesn't like, such as renouncing the bro trolls.
—Anyone who looks like a marionette when he talks, and sounds like him. I couldn't stand it.
—Anyone who just had a heart attack, although rage will keep Sanders going longer than Biden, I think.
I don't get what younger people see in him except free college, which has less chance than MfA of seeing Congressional daylight.
I said from the very beginning that only a good man can beat Trump. Who projects that persona better than Biden?
24
@Gabrielle Rose I couldn't disagree more. Biden is not a good man ,if policy means anything. He was the architect of the bankruptcy bill in 2005. Republicans like
Orren Hatch were falling all over themselves thanking Joe. This bill hurt families and women so badly. It
allowed rich people to file on that 3rd house in the Bahamas but not students on their loans. He was know
as the Senator for the credit card companies FOR A
REASON. Then there is his bringing along fellow Dems to vote to allow Bush to go into Iraq. The crime bill
which created the largest gulag the world has ever seen. I could go on. Social Security , trade agreements that gutted our industrial base. Yeah he's a great guy if you hate the middle class and especially if you hate the
working class. And he lies about it all. He's almost as
big a liar as Trump. But he did get arrested trying to see Mandela. That's a good lie from a good man.
Honestly can we look at this guys record, just a little glimpse. You know Trump supporters are lied to constantly mostly from Trumps media FOX and right wing radio. But the Dems are constantly lied to on MSNBC and CNN, NYT, about how the Dems are
saving the middle class/working class. And Biden is
never seriously vetted as a candidate. The entire
media is in the tank for one party or the other.Check
out RISING on internet for independent journalism
12
@Gabrielle Rose Sanders represents the views and values that the Ds had that led to a large middle class, a strong country and rich people. I am 61 btw and reached the same conclusions Sanders and Warren did before I knew who they were. It is called understanding how things work. Want my vote if it is Biden. There better be real change or I will abstain.
10
The main problem with Bernie, Mao, the Sandistas, and everyone else who demands revolution is that most people don't want revolution even when they do want change in their political/social system.
Bernie has run on a purist platform. His way or the highway. His recent attempts and statements about beating Trump being the highest campaign priority, are too little too late.
Bernie and his people keep trying to push an agenda that has been soundly rejected by the majority of Democrats and Liberals.
They further their push by making the claim, false though it is, that MOST Americans support MFA. They don't.
The exit polling asks "do you want more affordable health care".
What they don't ask is "do you prefer MFA over ACA". That is a distinct problem with the far left claims of Bernie and his supporters.
Bernie lacks nuance and compromise in his demands and real Democrats reject that stance.
If Bernie Supporters want to be Socialists, that is fine, form your own party. See how much support you gain across the nation or just admit that most people don't agree with your demands of purity, chaos and revolution; all of which are just code-words for destruction of the American way of life.
28
@mikenola,
Truth!
4
@mikenola I'm pretty sure you were trying to be insulting, but in the end everything you said had me nodding my head in agreement. Well, except the "form your own party" line. The DSA already is a party, and already threw its weight -- nominal as it is -- behind Bernie Sanders. I'm maybe not the person toward which you directed your ire, but I'll respond anyway. As a card-carrying Socialist, I support Bernie not because I want the "destruction of the American way of life," but because I want to stop it. Affluent people took a hit these last two weeks, and I suspect they believe their "American way of life" is slipping away, and I for one applaud it. This affluent lifestyle you suppose is your birthright has been built with (and at the expense of) many hard-working American's blood. Those Americans -- the ones you don't see, but whose labor you pretend is your own -- don't really feel compelled to work for you anymore. So if you're hoping I'll vote for Biden just to beat Trump, you're going to profess surprise when he loses. I won't be surprised at all. Sad? Sure. But in my eyes, the American way of life I want to destroy is income inequality, and only Sanders can do that.
13
@mikenola 1. The ACA is an unaffordable joke. High deductible plans that are catastrophic insurance at best. 2. Mao and the Sandinistas are not the kind of revolution that is meant. It is about real change not slow drip oligarchy. Note that in the case of your examples both were successful in winning. Mao not so much on bringing progress.
1
I can't believe anybody prefers Biden to Bernie. After all, Bernie is such a savvy negotiator with a great record of legislative accomplishment.
He successfully sponsored S. 885 (113th): A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 35 Park Street in Danville, Vermont, as the “Thaddeus Stevens Post Office”.
21
@Steve Simels
You are sarcastic, right?
1
No
At this point, Sander's insistence to continue his campaign- requiring further primaries- is nothing short of selfish.
Congregating people at poll places when the CDC says less than 50 people in a room? We are cancelling schools. We are practicing social isolation.
Bernie, it's over. Bow out, cede all the remaining delegates to Biden, and let the voters stay safe.
41
@Jonny
I do not think so.
Yesterday he made Biden take stand for this and that. If he wouldn’t be around would you actually know Biden’s program? I wouldn’t and I have been following this election very closely.
The only think I worry is that Biden’s “I changed my mind now” will be Trumps weapon against him will the day come he is the nominee. His new beliefs are not rock solid and given criticism will he change again? And us? Will we get what he “promises “ now or are we in for a (again) a surprise given the fact then that he is the candidate?
For being steady I believe Bernie would run Trump into the ground. And guess what? I believe he would be very presidential and just start laughing if Trump bashes this and that and (finally!) ignore that guy. An emperor without clothes. Exactly what Trump is.
22
@Jonny it's selfish to decide a race before even half the country voted. Sorry Biden's too much a liar for me.
6
@Jonny Your suggestion for Bernie is too supporting of the country. Bernie is only out for Bernie and so will go until he's wrung everything out. Sad. However he knows when this is over so is he.
2
America judged Bernie for exactly what he is.
Unlikeable, nasty, Cult leader, dishonest ( I'll release all my health records) , selfish ( torpedoed the nominee in 2016, resulting in a Trump victory, ready to do it again.....doesn't matter as long as his ego is fed) , arrogant.
oh I think America judged Bernie to a T
36
It’s always amusing when centrists call other people “nasty” with such bile. It’s toilet paper that’s sold out - not mirrors. Get one.
32
@Christian Haesemeyer Ah, yes. Not nasty at all.
4
@Jos Kohl
Hillary (too good to campaign in Mich, Penn, and Wisc) lost the election on her own.
9
Trump was told to do nothing about the Coronavirus for more than a month by his corporate billionaire puppet masters, so they could keep the stock market juiced- Joe, if he’s allowed to be president by those puppet masters, will do the same thing when the next pandemic arrives, because he’s beholden to the same billionaires, sixty of whom have donated to his campaign. Only Bernie and M4A will keep all Americans safe, safe from the billionaires!
23
It’s so clear right that the last thing we need is a revolution; what we need is a steady hand and good governance. The election shouldn’t fall completely to the back burner, but after Bernie gets annihilated in Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Arizona tomorrow, it’s time to go back to Vermont. We really don’t need him doing damage to Democratic nominee solely on an effort to boost his ego this time like in 2016. The stakes are way too high.
Anyway, I hear Havana is nice this time of year, Bernie.
36
@Mike I guess it depends on how you judge the situation. if I had a serious cancer ( and I think we do) I wouldn't want a smooth talker to slap a band-aid on it. I'd want action, even if it hurt.
20
@David
Well, Bernie would hurt. And his “action” in 30 years in Washington is renaming a few post offices. We need someone who knows how government works. Which excludes Bernie. All he knows is that he gets a check every two weeks and health insurance for life.
10
@Mike Right you are. Bernie also gets a very good retirement for life. Kinda not what other comrades get.
I think the answer is fairly simple:
1. America has never embraced the left edge of its spectrum, or at least hasn't since FDR was elected in 1932 - when unemployment was almost 25%.
2. About a year ago a Gallup poll the majority of Democrats said they wanted a more moderate party.
3. Sen. Sanders is generally running behind where he ran in 2016, proving that primary was more about Hillary than his proposals.
4. Democrats won the House in 2018 because "moderates" flipped seats held by Republicans. No Sanders-type progressive did.
Sanders is out of step with America, he is out of step with his party.
458
America, definitely, embraced the left spectrum policies as Medicare and Medicaid. The younger people, clearly, embrace the socialist agenda, especially because 'moderate' policies leave them much worse than their parents while doing nothing, except cuts, to prevent the crisis of such program as SS. Bernie, evidently, expanded his bases, making significant gain among Latinos and young blacks. 'Moderate' lost the Congress in 2016 together with the Presidency, and got back the House only because the progressive were able to generate enthusiasm that lifted the moderate candidates. But some incumbent moderate Dem Senators lost nevertheless. And although American say they want moderate policies, they very often vote for candidates who are quite extreme. That is how we got extreme right Rep party and Trump.
181
@Bumpercar
I think that, as Oscar Wilde said, "The truth is rarely pure and never simple."
Sen Sanders is not out of step with America. I think his biggest accomplishment has been making people more aware of the toxic effect of big money in politics and the obscene amount of power that the major corporations have over OUR government.
743
@yulia
The Democrats lost the House of Reps in 2010 and the Senate in 2014. And Bernie's base has contracted since 2016 when you compare the numbers he got to his 202 showings. Progressive candidates across the ticket in 2018 failed to win. In fact, the ONLY reason Democrats won the House back in 2018 (and with Pelosi's leadership, were able to provide at least some push back on Trump, hampered as it is by career Republicans who have sold out the nation and their souls to Putin) is because of the more moderate Democratic voters nationwide...you know, the same ones who have just come out for Biden in contest after contest (despite him not even running a campaign in several states he won) and will bring him the presidency, if his candidacy isn't hampered by another great friend of Putin's, Bernie Sanders. Hey, it was news to me that Bernie didn't vote for sanctions against Russia after the 2016 elections, but like his A rating from the NRA shows, Sanders is a true member of the political elite, and his "principles" fall to the wayside if enough money and/or influence helping him is at stake.
32
How about if Biden runs with Warren as Vice-President? But he will probably name some really really mainstream and tame woman. Please not Klobuchar nor Kamala Harris.
3
Bernie always blamed everyone else for his failure to get enough votes. Why is he still in the race he has no mathematical chance of winnning? ego, pure ego.
5
@Joseph B Delegates, pure delegates.
1
He would be a terrible president.
8
I thought that either the writer of the article or the staff at the NYT fact checked before putting anything in print.
I felt um-bridge in the beginning of the article because I saw Bernie labeled as a socialist twice. This label awakens a lot of automatic fear in people because they read about socialist governments that terrorize their populations.
He is not a socialist, He is a democratic socialist and there is a world of difference. By alluding to him as a socialist, you are doing Trump' s job for him. I think you owe Sanders an apology in writing in the NYT.
12
For millions of us now sitting home now with no paid leave some of that awful socialism Draper talks about sounds pretty good
10
One reason some of us lifelong Dems don't especially cotton to Bernie is his knee-jerk negativity about capitalism and the reflexive use of the word "corporatist" to trash everything they dislike. Not everyone can work for the government, or wants to. Not everyone can work for nonprofits. Academia is not exactly a benign and level playing field; ask the adjuncts who teach the majority of undergrad classes for low pay, no job security, and no benefits (yet the tenured profs don't seem to mind, since it lightens their load). And unions, viewed with misty-eyed nostalgia by many, still harbor their share of featherbedding and corruption.
Yes, corporate governance needs to improve in many ways -- starting with the lowering of overinflated CEO compensation -- but public companies just can't be wiped off the map. If they were, the lights would go out tomorrow because you'd be destroying most of the electric utilities. Elizabeth Warren understood this better than any of the candidates, but I think Biden does too. All this said, if Bernie becomes the candidate I will vote for him, and I imagine most Dems will too.
5
@jerseyjazz Fail. No one is talking about that. It is about removing subsidies and tax credits. It is about forcing on shoring so that the race to the bottom is stopped and we do not face the systemic risk. It is about fixing the systemic and deep risk in the financial system. It is about removing profit from healthcare so no one makes money off the death and misery of others. But I got my party card with my MBA and the two Big 4 firms where I was a practice lead or co-lead kept renewing my party membership /s.
3
His ideas are generally right.
His communications skills are horrible.
He and his believers that we the voters are wrong for not seeing that he's right the right person to lead the country.
If he really wanted to change the country, he would have done everything he possibly could to improve his communication skills.
That's how it works in the real world.
4
One reason some of us lifelong Dems don't especially care for Bernie is his knee-jerk negativity about capitalism and the reflexive use of the word "corporatist" to trash everything they dislike. Not everyone can work for the government, or wants to. Not everyone can work for nonprofits. Academia is not exactly a benign and level playing field; ask the adjuncts who teach the majority of undergrad classes for low pay, no job security, and no benefits (yet the tenured profs don't seem to mind, since it lightens their load). And unions, viewed with misty-eyed nostalgia by many, still harbor their share of featherbedding and corruption.
Yes, corporate governance needs to improve in many ways -- starting with the lowering of overinflated CEO compensation -- but public companies just can't be wiped off the map. If they were, the lights would go out tomorrow because you'd be destroying most of the electric utilities. Elizabeth Warren understood this better than any of the candidates, but I think Biden does too.
2
I don't like Bernie. I kept an open mind for a long, long time. Sure, free healthcare, school, on and on. But he keeps railing against the "1%" and "Wall Street". Sure they can be crooked, but that is capitalism! That's why they need checks and balances, not dismantling. If everyone is always equal, then there is nothing to strive for. Most of those "1%" started with nothing or very little and built companies that employ thousands. And if you rail against pharma companies in general, who is going to find the vaccine for the CoVid 19? Congress? CDC? Bern's all or nothing measures, along with comparing us to homogenous countries with less than 20 million citizens is ridiculous. I wish he would just get out of the way already.
6
@Kathy M Who do you think is funding the vaccine trial right now? It's the NIH. They fund the research. They are a government agency, not a pharma company.
3
The current Crisis will prove that Sanders is correct that we need Democratic Socialism or whatever you want to call a humane and human country.
Those persons without medical insurance who will be very sick -- but if we had Medicare for all -- they would be covered? Will there be bills and how huge? Anyone able to pay them.
The closing down of American jobs demonstrates the need for a yuge social safety net. I don't need the 1K Mr. Romney nor do many of my friends and some families need much more than 1K..
AI soon will put many truckers out of work.. robots already have and will continue to do so.... and of course all the jobs are in China -- why make anything in the USA. The Federal Govmt should put tariffs on drugs made in China -- forcing the industry to cut prices and have smaller profits... and allow Medicare to negotiate for drugs.. but most meds IMO should be made in USA>
The American public mistakes Joe Biden for a Democrat-- The ACA?Romeney care like Medicare Advantage plans preserves the hegemony of INSURANCE COMPANIES -- aka middle men add a layer of cost) --
and the PRESS can never find anything nice to say about Bernie...
Maybe the DOW will end at 16000: two days ago I said 18K -- but now there is more hope... but will Americans learn anything -- like maybe we need things like a luxury tax (so the rich pay something), an estate tax, no deductions for charitable donations-to pay for Medicare for all, free education for those who qualify?? NO
8
Bernie took America for granted. Period.
4
Is Sanders hoping that this pandemic will keep older voters from voting and nudge his numbers higher than they would have been if there hadn't been a pandemic? Is he really that much of an opportunist?
Perhaps, given that he hijacked the Democratic party, the answer is yes.
For shame.
3
If SC had voted on Super Tuesday, and Biden had not secured the endorsement of Jim Clyburn—followed shortly by Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Beto, and later Harris, Bernie would be the frontrunner.
People want Bernie's agenda—which is virtually identical to Warren's. People want to beat Trump more than they care about their agenda winning the day. After SC, and just before Super Tuesday, the Democratic party signaled to the American people that they thought that person was Biden. This delivered Bernie and unanticipated and crushing blow.
Warren still has a chance to endorse Bernie, and right this ship. If she ran as his running mate that might signal to voters that Bernie is still in this for the win, and give voters the confidence that he's just as electable. A Bernie-Warren ticket would deliver a clear path to the presidency--just look at who won the primaries in the states that Clinton didn't secure in 2016.
Joe has the weaker record, is the weaker debater, and as Warren said, a Washington Insider is not the right candidate for this moment. There's a reason his campaign was on its last leg just before Super Tuesday.
Clyburn, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and Beto should be getting more credit for Biden's success.
America didn't misjudge Bernie, America didn't expect that virtually all of the candidates and Clyburn would side with Biden right before the most important primary of the year.
7
@Abigail
Bernie was the "frontrunner" because the moderate vote was split 5 ways. Tell yourself what you want but it doesn't make it true.
@Abigail there's a saying in Russian : "If grandfather would be a grandmother, maybe he could cook ..."
Do any other photographers find the photo editors choices odd? or are they just post-modern?
1
Imagine if the DNC and the media, instead of continuously characterizing Sanders in every negative way they can come up with, whether it’s accurate or not, and they had discussed how essential, not only important his policies are to save lives, save the planet and increase democracy, away from the current fact that we are living in an increasing oligarchy. What would the election look like if instead of the hysteria and actually stating, how can we stop Sanders?!?!?! they all were even minimally being fair and accurate about how access to healthcare, which almost no American but the very rich reliably have, is a basic cornerstone of civilization? That’s what we see. Why don’t you? Because of the media and the narrative controlled by those who want to continue to amass obscene amounts of dynastic wealth. If I were you, I’d feel like I’ve been duped. I’d be angry. I am. I’ve lived in Japan, France and Germany and I know the truth. Don’t you want the truth?
11
Biden has been pushed to his front runner status by the warmongering, Wall Street supporting, status quo protecting Republican and Democratic Establishment, not by his merits. Sanders keep on!
America needs Real Change Now!
The American Dream died decades ago, and the Establishment, and that includes Biden, never noticed. America has obscene, colossal and growing inequality of opportunity, income and wealth, where the richest .1 percent take in 196 times as much as the bottom ninety percent. https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/
This pandemic is going to showcase the insanity of our healthcare systems, and make medicare for all look like the sane alternative.
In 2017, the United States spent about $3.5 trillion, or 18 percent of GDP, on health expenditures – more than twice the average among developed countries.
That 18 percent of GDP can be rejiggered to pay for medicare for all, with money left over, and no new monies needed.
This pandemic will be demonstrating the corrupt priorities of the US economic system reliant on Wall Street as its arbiter.
America would be a better country for having President Sanders lead the way to a more equal society with healthier, better educated, more thriving citizens prepared to participate in a more principled economy.
8
I began to reconsider "vote blue, no matter who" when Biden allowed he'd consider changes to (i.e., killing) Social Security and Medicare. Biden's corporate sponsors would love to see the death of SS and Medicare, which explains their sudden interest in Biden.
7
Hey its how to win. Biden told a few lies so what. Sanders shouldn't be so darned honest all the time. That's politics.
Biden for decades wanted to be buddies with Republicans so he told everyone he was the most conservative democrat in congress. So what he lied because now he says hes progressive.
So he lied about wanting to cut Social Security. So what he still wants to cut it but just doesn't say it out loud.
He can lie if he wants to its not like the NYT or any other corporate media will say one word about it. Win Win Period.
5
It is telling that Bernie’s speech is the same one he gave 5 years ago, according to the author.
And that was highlighted in last night’s debate, when too often his responses were limited to cut and paste parts of his stump speech.
Which highlights his limitations as a candidate.
6
Bernie's existential problem is that there is no socialist country that is democratic as well, and Bernie very clearly does not have a majority following even within the Democratic Party in the United States. Biden already earned a huge majority of the primary and caucuses votes in 2020, in competition with Bernie.
4
How misinformed (possibly willfully) can a person, a country be, to come to a conclusion that a socialist country cannot be democratic or democratic and socialist?
There is an American mindset, guarded by Republican talking heads and some conservative and centrist Democrats, who insist on comparing socialism with totalitarian communism.
Every country in Europe (and not alone in Europe has major socialist parties who are part of their government or leading their government at least since world war II.
Nobody in their right mind would call Europe communist or socialist apart from warmongering hardliners in all media.
In Europe these states are called social democratic countries or democratic social countries.
The American political education system is stuck in a prewar dogmatic red and blue world and that stigma benefits both parties extremely well.
They prefer the world to divide into good and bad. Good is capitalist, bad is communist. Nothing in between they are willing to trust, despite the fact that
America’s capitalism is now rotten to the core as it has handed over all power to a small group of extreme wealthy individuals creating the largest inequality in the world since the ‘feudal society’ when the common citizen had no rights and poorly paid.
In fact one can say that both sides are similar, as they depend on a similar component, ownership and control of all important bussiness in their territories.
It is time Americans are opening their eyes to other party colors.
5
@Johan D. The countries of Western Europe are generally democratic and liberal with a social safety net, but not socialist in that they are mainly liberal capitalist countries driven by private enterprise. None of them regard themselves as socialist. Bernie long ago reject the liberal model in favor of democratic socialist model, which actually does not exist in the real world.
I have no confidence that the U.S. will do what is right during and after this pandemic. This country is structurally incapable and fundamentally unwilling to put people over money, and all people over just some. In the U.S., millions are uninsured or underinsured, people working multiple jobs can’t make rent, and workers making a few dollars an hour are told that if they miss a shift their hours will be cut. This is a society that responds to poverty with police, and to health care needs with jail. It may be true that viruses only see bodies, not class or immigration status, but there is no question that those who will bear the brunt of this pandemic will be the poorest and most marginalized. The fundamental inequality on which everything in this country is predicated will be exacerbated by this crisis in ways we cannot fathom.
18
All this reminds me so much of my youth fifty years ago. Back then, our hero was Sen Eugene McCarthy from Minnesota, another progressive-to-moderate State. He was the first--and for a time the only--major voice that challenged the Democratic establishment's support for Pres Johnson's war in Vietnam. He lost the N.H. primary, but embarrassed LBJ into resigning. He was the first. Robt Kennedy followed to grab the limelight. Alas, he was murdered, and Sen McCarthy faded--and things have never been the same since. Until now. Thank you, Sen Sanders! You restore hope. Even in losing the nomination, you've moved the discussion and changed the Party of the people. There is still hope. It may take a while before we get other Americans to see as we do, but we'll get there.
7
Bernie constantly trumpets his campaign as "historic." I have lived long enough to witness Goldwater, Gene McCarthy, Bobby Kennedy and George McGovern. Bobby may not have been an outsider but the rest were and their campaigns ended as Bernie's will - not as president. Movement based candidates have a shelf life. Unless they are true revolutions, and one can argue that Goldwater did seed a revolution within the Republican Party, the movements fade and the adults take over.
6
@lion2019 I find some truth in your comparisons, but come to a different (and interesting) conclusion/prediction: Bernie is, or will come to be seen as, the a Democratic Goldwater (recognizing how Goldwater’s views came to strongly influence the Republican party over the long haul.
4
I don't believe either misjudged.
Bernie Sanders knew what he was up against, made his points and runs a great campaign.
America knew where Bernie stood. How couldn't we?
Biden and Sanders, as well as the last handful of democratic candidates all had what the Republican party squandered away over the last 5 years, integrity and a heart to serve the US citizens.
Make it clear who the candidates are really serving and the Democratic party will win. If Biden locks up the nomination and the Sander supporters keep trying to damage Joe Biden's integrity, all that will be accomplished is to blur what should be a clear line of difference.
6
Biden’s integrity... Aren’t you just the adorable comedian? If Biden could have lied more last night.. wait. That wasn’t possible. Biden’s Chief accomplishment was to oversee and personally benefit from the creation of not, Russian, but our very own, American Oligarchs! That’s integrity incarnate.
7
Was Bernie's "revolution" thought of as such prior to his 2016 book, _Our Revolution_? If you are the first to call whatever a "revolution," there's a very good chance it isn't a revolution, and far moreso if the whatever emerged from your own mind.
2
@Carl
Revolutions tend to be formed from a bottom up need- not as a top down strategy to try to convince others they need your ideology.
Bernie has had to manufacture enemies for the imaginary revolution to fight against- were in many places none existed - like the Democrats
The Democrats are certainly not the enemy - not even close - but Bernie needed one -so he has been making stuff up - and it is pretty bad. I wish his supporters would look stuff up.
3
Given the mess Trump made of our world standing I think Biden is more suitable a candidate to restore order and respect with our allies. I prefer smiling Joe the status quo to belligerent Bernie any day. Biden is not Clinton who was not liked by a lot of voters. He is very well liked and admired which I think poses a problem for Bernie
12
@Rit Biden: a kinder and gentler Clinton, without the girl friends. Elect a moderate, and you will get moderate results. Good luck.
2
Bernie misjudged America. If character mattered in a presidential candidate, Bernie should win, hands down. He's the most authentic and honest candidate for president this country has seen in a long time. But character does not matter. Second, words like "revolution" and "systemic change" are just too scary for the average "moderate" voter. Too many Americans are not behaving in a selfless way when it comes to the welfare of their nation. It's "me first" and everyone second or last. Bernie is such a special candidate. I'm not even sure this country is worthy of Bernie Sanders. Someone who truly champions the working class and fights for systemic change is not someone who will get elected in the United States. If COVID were to trigger a massive economic depression then Bernie would be the man for the times. It's only in times of massive economic upheaval that Americans are much more open to "systemic change" and "revolution."
14
@Gordon No, I believe character does matter, Gordon. You can have all the best laws on the books, but if you've got rotten politicians you're sunk. If a man has integrity, nothing else matters. If a man lacks integrity, again, nothing else matters. And who's president now?
2
I think Bernie Sanders misjudged America. Like many Bernie Sanders thought Americans cared for every body's wellbeing, while they care only about their persons and a little about those close to them.
20
I have a newfound respect for Bernie Sanders for demanding an equal healthcare system for all after the Coronavirus has reached epic proportions. Our healthcare system is the most expensive in the world and the cost of caring for Americans under the current system will dwarf Senator Sanders proposal. What a difference a week makes.
25
I think people know who Bernie is. Most people don't want to help their fellow Americans. They want for themselves and that is it. I think Bernie knows that.
Some people tell the truth even when they know that most people disagree with them.
Americans have consistently voted not to share the wealth. You can poll them all you want but when it comes down to the action that they can take to change things for the better they choose not to. I have heard all of the excuses, but doubt they are the real reasons for their votes. Americans just don't want to help the people they hate.
15
@Chris
Truth?
Bernie does not do well on fact check sites - do not mistake passion for honesty - some will lie to achieve their passion - they assume they are correct and therefore feel justified in all their lies
3
@Chris Some people tell the truth even when they know that most people disagree with them. That's called leadership.
4
I think lost in the discussion about Bernie’s waning support is the coalition behind him. The ultra left progressives - AOC, Omar, Tlaib, Jayapal, Michael Moore, etc., have weakened Bernie’s grip on the working class- white and non- white. Their strident rhetoric on immigration - disband ICE, free healthcare to border crossers, less border control, created a narrative of open borders and anti-American/pro-illegal immigrant. Why would a struggling working class look kindly at such largesse?
I think it was Immigration more than Medicare for all that brought down Bernie. Being against trade international agreements but advocating lax immigration from Mexico and Central America don’t align together. Both are about labor and laborers.
4
As we watch the unequal struggle between Bernie and Joe, I'm thinking of the emotional dynamic behind some of the support for Sanders. Bernie is phenomenon reminiscent of the late 60's. We marched, we protested, most of us went counter culture while some went moderate to hard core revolutionary. We felt a rush at participating in anything communal as if there was a power there that was going to transform the world and make it a kinder and gentler place. We yearned for change and it did come but just not in the way we thought, it's a big country and we were miniscule. And we changed too. Brothers and sisters, look at us now. In the recesses of our hearts we're the same people but there's been years of settling for realities and so we're older and wiser now. But this we do know, we do understand the impatience and the fury of young supporters of Liz and Bernie and we do empathize with them. But crooks and criminals are endemic because there's always people who game any system for their own profit. It's a lifelong profession to accomplish changes. You do what you can when you can. For some, it's their sole priority - a revolutionary's life. For most of us, we also want lovers, spouses, children, and family and that tames us. It's why we're supporting Joe.
6
Recent interesting articles are arguing that the existence of a strong moderate conservative Party is a major buttress for liberal democracy in a modern state whether or not that Party often forms the Government. In addition to the perspectives such a Party provides, its presence & relevance helps scotch the prospects of xenophobic, atavistic, authoritarian, reactionary populism, tinged with a taste for violence & nihilism.
Arguably, the existence of a strong, moderate social democratic Party serves a similar role on the centre left of the political spectrum in many advanced modern democracies.
Currently, the GOP inadequately, putting it mildly, fills the role of such a strong, moderate conservative Party & the Democrat Party has great difficulty accommodating both its centrist & quasi social democratic factions in a creative & coherent way.
The US unquestionably remains a democracy, but its capacity to express a full, creative & responsive expression of all sides of important issues in a moderate & productive way is hindered by the impasse I've tried to describe above.
2
Bernie's ideas are sound and should be pursed. I like and agree with much of what he says. The problem is with the delivery. USA citizens do not vote on the issues. They vote on the"look," the personality, sometimes just the name. Does a candidate look, move, speak like the voters' ideal leader? Who cares about policies and issues? No one. Just take a close look at The Chosen One in the formerly white house.
13
Sanders has no excuse to continue to blame "the establishment" especially because this is his second run. He saw how strong the establishment is when he ran against Hillary in 2016, he saw all the media and institutional obstacles that would be placed in front of him. No one in power yields without a fight.
Yet it was his campaign that decided to run a 35% to victory strategy. That strategy was working fine until the establishment gave Pete and Amy the marching orders.
Sanders has to exhibit the humility to admit that his tactics failed. Young people did not show up in big enough numbers. In spite of its corruption, Black voters in the South do not see the party that gave them civil rights as a corrupt institution that needs to be toppled.
Sanders time as the leader of the progressive movement is coming to an end. It is up to the next generation of leaders like AOC, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal etc that are working within the Democratic party to build a 51% strategy for victory instead of a 35% strategy for defeat.
5
Sanders is a great orator. He speaks cogently about our modern dilemmas. This was clear in the debate that he is cognitively equipped to deal with the sheer scale of a global pandemic.
There has been a conspiratorial side to his campaign that states we must tear down the existing order because that order is solely responsible for the failure of society. I don't like that part about Sanders' platform. It is disturbing to me that such a significant portion of Americans believe that the government's invisible hand is THE pernicious force in politics.
Americans are forced into two camps:
1. You abide by what institutions and establishment media tell you, and you conversely interpret meaning from those very props.
2. Everything is a conspiracy - criminality, greed and the shadowy dictates of the DNC, the Clintons, etc., run the show.
Humans are replete with contradiction - dividing us into two such inflexible positions defies our very nature.
There is a veneration of martyrdom in his campaign. By that I mean that if you disagree with certain parts of the Sanders agenda then that is a moral deficiency on your behalf, and his supporters will become online martyrs to signal within their in-group their political bonafides.
Bernie Sanders is a good person with a good heart and good ideas. Maybe if his insurgent campaign was geared towards unification rather than division, then he would be more popular.
9
It's really just two world views.
(1) Biden believes America can function with a billionaire banking class leeching the lifeblood out of the host body on a daily basis. In this view, we just need to tweak the system to keep the host alive.
(2) Sanders' view is that the host will die with the parasite attached.
The Corona virus gives America a nice chance to test these two theories. We've already seen a multi-trillion dollar intervention to save the markets, but Congress can't even agree on sick leave for big companies like McDonalds and Starbucks.
So far, it looks like (2) is correct, but the test has just begun.
20
Will Sanders leave already? There is a pandemic going on. Holding primaries endangers lives. He has no path to the nomination. If he truly cared about the American public, he would say, "I was going to fight a little longer. But given the circumstances, it would be immoral of me to do so. The voters have spoken, and they have chosen my good friend Joe Biden. I unequivocally support him and will throw all my resources in helping him to defeat Donald Trump."
Please, astonish me. PLEASE leave. Please do the right thing.
8
@SYJ Why in the world is this the "right thing"? Ignore what you have no interest in, and let me have my vote.
Immoral? Wish of the voters? Voting's not done.
6
I highly suspect that in 10-15 years we will praise Bernie's vision about revolutionary changes. Absolutely, drastic measures are in order. And every day we remain complacent and ineffectual, the more costly will be recovery, if even possible.
The question is if Biden will, during his four years, also adapt sufficient hard measures against economic inequalities, oil-dependent energy, caving infrastructure and the rest.
It is possible with an effective team including owning the Senate, that close to similar draconian measures could begin to be implemented. But he may also be hung with "too little too late".
In any case, Bernie is a visionary and very astute in his realization that life as we know it is in for an unimaginable disaster. COVID 19 is just a whisper.
In essence, the "what' of Bernie's message is right on....it is the "how" for most folks that is hard to stomach. But these drastic "hows" may be what are praised in 10-20 years.
Our situation is like trying to turn around a huge container ship in the Panama Canal. It ain't happenin' without a very skilled pilot. (or pilotess)
12
The Democratic Party has just committed suicide. The overwhelming majority of young Sanders voters will never vote for a capitalist candidate again. But the showdown between capitalist and socialist candidates has has not been ended, only postponed. The Democratic Party leadership derailing the Sanders campaign was predictable. But, more historically important, the political consciousness of the American working class has been awakened.
17
@Red Allover
And the majority of the party would never have voted for Bernie.
The Bros said all that 4 years ago and Hillary still got the popular vote. This time we have some of the Independent and moderate Republican vote. Threaten all you want--we're not voting for Bernie.
1
That Sanders has come this far shows that this country has learned to appreciate much of the values of socialism, if not its ideology.
12
I'm registered in California as affiliating with the Socialist Party. I did not vote for Bernie Sanders in the primary in 2016. And I did not vote for Bernie Sanders in the primary in 2020. Here's why:
Bernie Sanders is at his BEST when he lays out a vision for radical political change through socialized medicine and termination of all student loan debt. These are investments of TRILLIONS of dollars into the lives of people who need it most.
But Bernie Sanders NEVER explained HOW he would accomplish these. His supporters kept asserting is that somehow they would get passed once he was in office. Passed by whom?
One Bernie Sanders supporter, YouTube star Kyle Kulinski, suggested that it would have to come to a general strike to force Sanders' agenda through Congress.
A General Strike?
Look at the reaction of the coronavirus, which took WEEKS to happen and only after political leadership by Governors in California, New York, Ohio, Illinois forced the coronavirus response. Back to Sanders, if a General Strike was never in the cards to begin with, then SANDERS' ENTIRE CAMPAIGN WAS FRAUDULENT and it counts for NOTHING this phony claim that Sanders "pulled the party to the left." Biden is not being pulled to the left. Biden is courting Sanders voters, 12% of whom voted for Trump in 2016.
MY socialism is to refuse to vote for Biden. Let the chips fall. And enact Sanders' revolution by force. The federal government must be brought to its knees. Secession is key.
2
@Louis Anthes
Thank you for providing this perspective. Very informative.
"MY socialism is to refuse to vote for Biden. Let the chips fall. And enact Sanders' revolution by force. The federal government must be brought to its knees. Secession is key."
Moderates, are you paying attention? Bolshevicks in 1917 Russia were supported by only 6% of population but they were ready to use force and they brought the country to her knees for 80 years. America now is at a boiling point. Warren and Sanders offered the ways to relieve the pressure and achieve some balance, and you do not want to take it.
This is the first time I'm reading a call to "revolution by force" from the Left, it is usually far Right domain, but in this case ideology does not matter. When inequality reaches certain point, democratic governments either turn into brutal dictatorships or are blown up.
I want to make sure to point out that the commentator is NOT Bernie supporter. He is indeed far Left. Note the difference.
2
@Louis Anthes
Climate change will not be addressed unless we vote for a Democrat - period
We do not have the luxury to be concerned about other matters in politics
2
@NBO Would not hurt to add the decimation of the population, economic failure and starvation due to the after-effects of WWI and rule by a monarchy, but you can spin your tall tales any way you wish. Did not mention the Mensheviks nor the Trotskyites either.
I think EVERYONE knows the democratic nomination process is inherently corrupt and designed to favor preselected candidates. Some admit that it's undemocratic, but say it's a political "party" after all and these things just happen. No. They don't have to.
The Republican party can apparently be less corrupt. In 2016, Donald Trump was loathed by the party establishment, much as Bernie was then and now by the Democratic establishment. This changed after his nomination and, especially, after his election and the failed (democracy-rejecting) efforts to immediately impeach him. Trump won the nomination, just as Bernie was set to do two or three weeks ago, by splitting the support for establishment candidates of the party. But Republicans did NOT collude to get their candidate elected.
Democrats CLEARLY coordinated the dropping-out and endorsements of the other major candidates, even the day before Super Tuesday! This historical display of party corruption is now glossed over. Democrats act as though Joe Biden is responsible for this dramatic turnaround! As though Klobuchar and Buttigieg (and Warren's non-endorsement) had no effect! What was offered to Amy, Pete, and Beto to suddenly fall in-line and to Warren NOT to fall in-line? When did this likely "quid-pro-quo" arrangement start. Julian Castro weirdly endorsed Warren in January, well after she fell in the polls. We should know in four days who's behind the Super Pac that Warren embraced before the Super Tuesday contests.
11
@carl bumba It was a pathetically desperate display by the remnants of republicon lite. It will historically be viewed as another chapter in the failed script from the DNC; since the sellout in 1984. The COVID-19 shock to the system is the only phenomenon to depose trump in 2020.
Bernie is not going away. His message is beginning to loom larger given the health and economic crisis. With tax cuts to the wealthy while healthcare has diminished due to the 2008 crash and particularly Trump, his message only becomes more pronounced. Unfortunately the danger we are in presently is not looking for a radical. There could be no more radical a person then our current president in all the wrong ways! Life is complicated.
11
@Dana Comparing Bernie to trump is a stretch beyond
sentient reality. His proposals are as radical as asking
for what was stolen from Americans when Banks were de-regulated, neo-liberal trade agreement sent U.S. Manufacturing offshore with clinton and bush policy, regulating the ongoing mortgage fraud, taxing unearned income of speculators. I would immediately Nationalize the airline industry and shut down shale-based oil operations, not bail them out, nor any wall street speculators running junk bonds Credit default swaps and mortgage-backed derivatives...THere would be a National Healthcare mandate with free testing and free care for COVID-19 virus treatment. Not very radical ideas, but pracitcal and necessary. You've been brain-washed over the past 40 years of unstable markets, bubble economies, non-taxed wealth transfers, deeper recession to depression cycles in '84, '87, 98,2007-2020 etc.
In all the myriad written and spoken words since the debate, NO-ONE has called attention to Biden's calling Putin a "thug". In a world of nations facing economic and viability collapse from another threat---pandemic added to climatic---it is the height of irresponsibility to alienate rather than cooperate, with any and all governments. Same old, same old destructive American hubris and saber rattling is NOT helpful. Bernie has been, and last night was again, more constructive and NOT destructive in foreign (and domestic) policy. The doomsday clock approaches midnight. We CAN do better with Bernie! Diplomacy, NOT divisiveness. The future, NOT the past. Positive, NOT negative. Let's ALL help each other, for a change---NOW.
9
Bernie and Trump both played heavily to their base and I don't fit in with either nor would I want to. Normally I would vote for the Democratic candidate but when Bernie talks about his working class backers and you realize that you are not working class or part of the 1% you go for the candidate who fills that void, Joe Biden.
4
@Peggysmomil Looking for your cut, or maybe worried you will have to pay your fair share and get American jobs back onshore. We don't need republican lite any longer.
Look where it got us over the past 30 years.
It's baffling to me that the idea of national healthcare is still being trumpeted as radical. It's a massive drain on our economy even in the best of times. Second, the idea that we have to take real action to forestall climate change is anything but radical. Are you not aware of the cost of doing nothing? The media (and the Times) keeps framing the argument as though Bernie is proposing something that is inconceivably radical when it is more about restoring some sanity to our way of life and to the future of every single American and person on the planet.
18
Bernie should realize that he will not be the nominee. Yet he should not quit. He's playing a crucial role in pressing and critiquing the establishment Democratic PArty to be receptive and responsive to more progressive issues, especially universal health care, to climate change, to educational issues, to the importance of the public sector (which he should drop the "socialist" term to refer to it). The public sector represents America and is the main sector that citizens can control. The rest is the private sector and has walls around it. The candidate debates in TV, the adds, the organizing are crucial fora to explain and unpack the importance of his policies. He and his followers should keep mobilizing to make the public and the party more receptive to these traditional issues of the old Democratic PArty, now renewed with new issues. Biden is a stiff stick. I suppose he will be able to appoint capable people to do the work for him, but he's too old and tame to lead. The left sector of the party needs to press on to be heard. This is his great role.
9
Yes! Bernie is pure and consistent and that is admirable and is also easy when you are an Independent and free to do whatever you like. That is much harder when you are part of the governing party and have the *responsibility* to govern.
Bernie's policies are not all that radical but he is. Radicals are necessary and even essential in a democracy. His radicalism, at this time, just suggest four more years of hard core polarization.
Can Biden pacify that without selling out to the radical Republicans? Maybe not, but ---- *maybe*!?
Any promise of improvement over the present situation would be worth trying! More radicalism would not likely work to anyone's benefit?
3
What happened here is that the narratives spun by the media did not come true. In reality, Sanders did not dominate the primary and Bloomberg was a big flop. If the media wants to get things right in the future, they need to start reporting and stop trying to shape the process with selective stories and coverage. Every narrative that the media created around the Democratic primary dies with Biden's victory that, instead of Sanders, drove turnout up.
This leads us to the biggest sham narrative of all. The media are telling us that this is a divided nation where everybody lives in their partisan bubble. In reality, this nation is now governed by right-wing extremists who seek to undermine government and the judicial system. Those opposed to this development may appear partisan but only if you are one of the extremists. In other words, the division is created almost exclusively by the GOP and Trump who in fact freely and publicly admit to it. Biden's victory in the primaries shows that the Democrats are still largely the same old Democrats. They actually care about what is actually happening in this country rather than being blinded by a crazy ideology.
So, isn't it finally the time for the media to replace fair and balanced with just fair?
2
Sanders is not radical at all.
He simply supports progressive public policy that has been an overall success in Canada, Japan, and Western Europe....none of which are failed states despite the 'socialist' propaganda that America's radical right spoonfeeds Americans.
Sanders only mistake is calling himself a democratic socialist, a term which the average American can't hear or say without having a nervous breakdown.
Sanders should have called himself a market humanist in order to not frighten the easily duped masses who tragically lack the critical thinking skills to understand that a market economy with a humane safety net works great in every other rich country.
As it stands today, America has the most radical, right-wing medical healthcare rip-off in the world and its public policy on the environment, food production, campaign finances, income taxes, childcare, education, voting rights and infrastructure have all been radically rigged rightward since 1980.
Bernie would have merely steered America back toward the center, but America's timid minds couldn't handle some mild thinking or progress.
Tragic.
19
@Socrates
Thank you. Agree 100%.
3
@Socrates, since it was so easy to hate Trump why was it so hard to love Bernie? I don't get it either. With Joe Democrats will now be wondering why it is they feel nothing.
3
@Socrates
A lot of the healthcare systems in the other countries Bernie likes to point to are not even as far left as Bernie's plan - so yes it is very radical especially for the USA. However, Bernie's biggest problem is his dishonesty and inflexibility. If not for that he could have molded his position to suit the electorate and could have kept from pushing others away that he would have needed to get his agenda through. However, I suppose he has always had this problem with bringing others along or he would have accomplished more in congress.
4
A wide appeal to the young because of free college and healthcare for all. Items many already have under a different plan called parents...
3
Bernie created his own problem. Flogging his 'revolution' to his followers in intractable terms, he could, during the primaries, modify his policy policy positions only at the peril of confusing or disappointing his apostles. The result was that he did not modify them, and he continued to come across as an unreconstructed 60's radical with a two-year-old's insistence that the world adapt itself to his vision. If he would have wanted to do differently, he was trapped in a stubborn persona of his own creation.
As Jack Kennedy had it, "...every mom wants her son to be President. They just don't want him to become a politician in the process..." At the end of the day, Bernie either just didn't want the gold ring bad enough, was a bad politician, or both.
6
The Democratic Party was once the party of Franklin Roosevelt. He promised Americans a New Deal. The Republicans and the "co-opted" Democrats have have been systematically working to dismantle it for the past 50 years.
Sanders has lead a movement of the disenfranchised. It's time now for existing and soon-to-be-elected "progressive" Democrats to carry a "Renewed New Deal" torch.
9
Those who watched the two news conferences today first with the self isolated Trudeau and then with our cabnet members charge with oversight in these interesting time understand how someone so engrossed in America's politics of self destruction understands that Bernie and Joe failed to see the slow evolution of a country which designed a future became a nation obsessed with a mythical past.
3
@Montreal Moe
There is nothing that offends my ears more than the phrase " leader of the free world".
I can think of Finland, New Zealand and Denmark which reflect leader of the free world better than a country that has gone mad with too much wealth and power.
3
Bernie made America think about basics, particularly the distribution of resources and power, in the interest of people that did not belong to the top10%, let alone the 1%.
6
For god's sake, this guy spent his entire career in politics, he is a member of the establishment too, just one who can't get along with anyone else.
I have listened to him, I do not agree with him, I have never liked him, I will not vote for him.
I first time I ever voted it was for Reagan in 1980. I have not voted for a republican since, including Reagan's second term. I am a moderate democrat, and there are many more of me than Sander's supporters.
My brother in law in Georgia has never once voted democratic but says he will vote for Biden in the fall. He said Trump is a disaster but he would have sat out the election if Sanders was on the ticket, he hates both Trump and Sanders. So moderate republicans will vote Biden too.
Trump must be removed, Sanders cannot do it.
8
@georgiadem Clear, concise and correct.
2
Biden has been gentle in his criticism of Sanders as well. What would be the implications of Sanders’ socialist revolution for union workers’ pension funds? Does he want to nationalize all corporations, big and small? What would he do if “the 1 %” took themselves, their money and their businesses to more hospitable countries? Is it not demagoguery - just like Trump’s- to broadly deem corporate executives “crooks” without referencing anyone in particular committing any actual crime? What has he actually accomplished in Congress? Why isn’t his history of supporting the NRA evidence that he lacks the kind of purity he demands of everyone else? Why is his personal life off limits? He mentioned a deity several times in last night’s debate? Does faith - any faith - mean anything to him at all or was that just a manner of speech or pandering? Why is his personal life off limits? Why do most voters over a certain age not support him? These are some of the questions Biden could ask but hasn’t. Sanders isn’t the only one fighting gently in this primary. Biden knows that, to beat Trump, Democrats need a big tent and not a bloody one. Sanders has pushed us left on health care. Now it’s time to support Biden and make sure 2020 is not 2016 all over again. Unless, like Trump, Sanders’ movement is more important to him than the country’s well being.
3
Senator Sanders rendered his duty to his core constituents with aplomb and intensity but his campaign is essentially over now and he should exit the stage gracefully. His ideas are ideals and have minimal applicability at this time to the degree he suggests. He knows this. In those ideals reside an element of deception. Our country is divided. Revolutionary change is unlikely. Lecturing us from those positions of dinner table purity ultimately adds to the “us or them” divisions in the Democratic party and detracts from the greater good; a new administration.
2
What's the plan when those out of work due to the coronavirus run out of money and can no longer pay our health insurance premiums?
8
AK is absolutely right, the difference between the two candidates could not be sharper: "He(Sanders)'s quick, he's articulate, he's smart on the topics that matter to me, he can think in nuanced ways..."
But, his analytical skills are of no help as long as he does not take into account that his constituency is not only not up to the big changes he is proclaiming, but basically inert.
Peoples are inert, nothing has changed since Moses has lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. He needed many "goodies" to have their spirits kept up.
Incremental steps seem to be the only possibility for healthy development, as Paul Krugman recently has pointed out, and rightly so.
1
Leaders do what Bernie has done; plant a flag ahead of the People and wait for them to get there. Until they do he has to stand steady while taking hits.
That's what Bernie has done for 30 years. Lesser politicians just pander.
8
I think people started going to fact check sites and realized they had mistaken his passion for sincerity and honesty.
The truth is that he is willing to lie to fulfill his vision and this willingness seems to have few limits.
This was apparent in 2016 with some of the things he was saying about Hillary that were proven false on fact check sites
Trump picked up on these lies and used them in the GE
Then Bernie called foul when he did not win the nomination. If one bothers to look up the primary results, you see that Hillary won the primary by nearly 3 mill votes - huge. This can't be done by someone putting their finger on the scale
We could see Bernie starting to do the same to Biden with the edited and misleading video regarding SS. Bernie initially tried to distance himself from it when first caught.
Now Bernie is doubling down to the point that his misleading prime-time TV ads could cost us my retiree swing state as well as a Senate seat
The fact check sites still call Bernie out on it, but some media are giving him a pass simply because Biden had been willing to vote for a budget freeze when the GOP were threatening things like a shutdown and a default on our debt, but this is not the same as advocating for cuts to SS - not close - but this is what Bernie is implying
Bernie is down double digits in the states voting tomorrow, yet he s still spreading lies and will force us to stand in line to vote and risk a virus to stop him - when he has no chance of winning.
3
Mr. Sanders should not be our next president! I do not believe that he holds the American public's health and safety as one of his top priorities. He is selfishly continuing his candidacy during the Coronavirus crisis, when the prospect for his winning the Democratic Nomination is most likely zero. In doing so, he is putting pressure on voters to travel to the polls tomorrow, possibly subjecting them to the risk of contracting the Coronavirus!
3
Bernie, bless his soul, has totally misinterpreted/misread Americdan history.
Sure, there have been bursts of "socialistic" behavior such as TR and The Trust Busters, FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society. But these examples are contrary to what is really in America's DNA.
Long ago even foreign observers such as de Tocqueville and Martineau were able to see a connection between America’s corrosive hyper-individualism and the early influences of what would become an equally corrosive capitalism.
5
The American stampede to the extreme right is nowhere more manifest than in calling Bernie Sanders an extremist. In most of the Western world, he would be a center or perhaps a slightly center left politician. What he advocates is mainly accepted as good government, in Canada, New Zealand and Western Europe. Will the US ever wake up to this? I doubt it, given both media concentration and the power for money dynamic of lobbyists and political donations. People who take FOX "news" as gospel, for example, do not exist in most of the Western world. I tried to watch that once with an American relative, and I actually laughed out loud before leaving the room. It was like some kind of absurdist satire in its depiction of global and national events. How does one ever combat that?
6
There is no misjudgement here. There is no blunder. We're just witnessing the struggle of a TRUE reform candidate against a corrupt, party establishment and their undemocratic nomination process.
If Klobuchar, Buttigieg, Beto and Warren didn't fall in line a couple weeks ago there would be no talk of 'what went wroong', etc.. Biden would have won only a minority of the Super Tuesday states and Bernie would have won the most delegates. If anything, the question now posed would have been - legitimately - 'what went wrong with Biden's campaign'?
8
Sanders wants to impose a moratorium on deportations, but Biden goes much further. During Sunday’s debate, he said: “Number two, the first 100 days of my administration, no one will be deported at all. From that point on, the only deportations that will take place are commissions of felonies in the United States of America.”
Biden also accused Republicans of lying when they say he favors open borders, but it is difficult to seen how his policy could be described as anything other than an open border policy? This would apply not just to illegal border crossers but to any of the 76.9 million tourists who come to the United States each year who decide they don’t want to go home.
It means anyone who sets foot on U.S. soil could not be required to leave unless they are arrested and convicted of a felony.
2
This last debate has laid to rest the argument of those inclined to ageism that either of the two candidates aren't capable thinkers & expositors of their views. The fact that only one of them has a vision for the future has escaped the attention of the electorate up to this point.
That Biden is an acceptable alternative to Trump is a given. That he is an acceptable alternative to Bernie is not the case. This primary is not over until the last votes are counted.
5
I am a young Democrat who yearns for a more progressive direction but also has a loyalty to the Democratic Party. Therefore, I do feel caught in the middle of this. I think Biden represents the past, is not inspirational, can be wobbly, and is not running on anything other than to replace Donald Trump (which I admit is compelling for many Democrats). However, I think Bernie has even more weaknesses- ones that those on the left and in the middle can realize. I have always been put off by his old-school leftist view of the world, which emphasizes class concerns over all else. I think he can minimize issues of racial and gender equality, among others. If economic issues were king, why has Southern history been a story of poor whites aligning themselves with the rich whites who look down upon them, instead of the African-Americans they have an economic kinship with? No wonder he can't win black voters. Bernie is also a candidate of platitudes. "Medicare for all" is a slogan, not a detailed plan to provide universal coverage or to get it passed despite the rejections of the morally-bankrupted GOP. He gets offended when anyone points out his ideas are not detailed or paid for, unlike Warren or many other progressives. Finally, in a two-party system, especially one with a corrupt and evil GOP, Democrats are the only force for good. Yet, he continues to attack nearly every Democrat as "establishment", (but he's been in Congress for 30 years with nothing to show for it).
3
First, I respect Bernie Sanders. My millennium children adore him. But,
While , as a 'christian progressive' I support the morally guided policies Bernie proposes, I think America is burned out and wants the equivalent of a culinary 'intermezzo' . 2016 was probably Bernie's year. Biden is a political player whose centrist and more 'relaxed' policies are soothing for an America needing to recover from the Trauma of Trump.
Hang in there Bernie, you have seeded a new progressive reality. The next generation of aspiring leaders however will need to make them happen. Rejoice Senator, you have been successful. VP Biden, choose your VP running mate wisely. She will be the candidate to realize Bernie's vision.
2
Anyone who is profoundly motivated by progressive ideology such as T.R. , F.D.R., Truman, Johnson, and evening Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, learn to temper their enthusiasm with two political realities. You must become the engineer that masters the machinery of legislation and compromise. Then you must worship the art of the possible.
This masterful review of Sander’s performance as Mayor, his political failure as a petulant ideologue in the House, and his Senate epiphany that it is insufficient to be simply progressive. You must also master the art of what is possible and be effective in enacting such policies through compromise.
Regrettably in this primary campaign, the House ideologue and the Hillary nemesis of 2016 , not the mayor and Senator who had mastered the machinery of politics, showed up. His ideas remain powerful but his political virtuosity failed him again.
I don't think its actually about Biden or Sanders, its about doing what the Senate failed to do and removing a president from office that behaves unethically and who has vastly lowered the standards we once took for granted in a President.
1
He is the son of a Polish immigrant, who rose to represent his state in the Senate, is a candidate for the presidency, and owns three homes. He is living proof against his “rigged” economy rant. Of course young people love him, he is for free everything.
The fact that he doesn’t mention the costs, hasn’t the plans for implementing these programs, and has a scanty record of legislative accomplishments to date, are all minor details.
Actions speak louder than words, and the Democratic voters have chosen accordingly.
3
I prefer Bernie's policies to Biden's ---but, Biden's performance in this debate was better than previous ones. That's a relief, since he's the likely nominee and also winner against our worst president in history.
The timing of the C virus may be fortunate---Trump's poor response to our health emergency will be a big deciding factor in his defeat 2020.
1
"no evocation of an America under a Sanders presidency in which it was possible to see anything other than round-the-clock class warfare."
Curious that the only people who claim there is no class warefare or that it's not important are the ones winning it. Politics IS class warfare and it's violent.
Negotiating a bill that only covers paid sick leave for only 20% of workers and leave all the others out during a pandemic, because of corporate interest is violence.
Letting 500'000 people go bankrupt every year because of medical expenses is violence.
Allowing pharma and healthcare industry to charge $600 for Insulin so that one in four people with diabetes skip live saving doses or have to choose between insulin and other medical conditions is violence.
Leaving tens of thousand of people to die every year because of lack of healthcare is violence.
“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” - Warren Buffet.
It's just a matter of which side are you on.
I know which side Bernie is on.
6
Sanders claims the fight is against Trump, but I haven't heard him make any adverse statements about the pro-Sanders commercials that are being run by Republicans, nor have I heard him recognize that the fight is actually against Trump.
Trump is running uncontested in the Republican party. How is he proving that it's a fight against Trump by his espousal of populist rhetoric to fans who are fanatics. His style is running parallel to Trump's.
Is he keeping his fans informed? Apparently, he's not willing to apologize for endorsing Lockheed Martin as long as Lockheed Martin was "economically" beneficial to Vermont, and to Bernie himself.
He's not willing to apologize for voting against the Brady Bill.
He's not willing to apologize for his lack of creating legislation that actually would put his money where his mouth is.
He is not willing to admonish any of the fans of his who didn't bother to vote in 2016.
And at this point, I want an apology from Bernie for not unifying the Democrats, but for dividing them. Although a lot of his speeches are encouraging, one only has to look at his voting record to find that in reality, he has not really done much for me or for anyone else. And so at this juncture all I am hearing from him is self-congratulatory rhetoric.
I've had it up to here with self-congratulatory rhetoric from egotists whose chief concern is to be the autocratic leader of this country.
So, to Bernie, if you have best interests at heart, bow out.
5
He is the son of a Polish immigrant, who rose to represent his state in the Senate, is a candidate for the presidency, and owns three homes. He is living proof against his “rigged” economy rant. Of course young people love him, he is for free everything.
The fact that he doesn’t mention the costs, hasn’t the plans for implementing these programs, and has a scanty record of legislative accomplishments to date, are all minor details.
Actions speak louder than words, and the Democratic voters have chosen accordingly.
2
With all due respect for American exceptionalism, the victory of the establishment against Bernie Sanders looks to many Canadians like the triumph of Goliath over David.
6
In the Democratic Primary here in Illinois I just voted for Bernie and all his delegates. So there's that.
6
Bernie should know that the word or label Socialist and Socialism are not popular in America. Lot of the Democrats are scared that he will drain Biden resources and
waste time to re-elect Trump again. How long Bernie is a Democrat?
1
Only in America. In most modern capitalist democracies, someone with Sanders' politics wouldn't be a 'fringe leftist loner'. He or she would be seen as part of the center or left center--not at all 'radical'--- where HC for all has been a norm for decades, and generations. Also paid sick leave for all employees, low or free college tuition, and child and family supports.
It's like another planet. We seem to need interplanetary space craft to visit and learn from these societies--- across the Canadian border and 2 big oceans. How do the natives of these 'exotic' societies agree on and finance those protections for their citizens?
4
I think Sanders is negative kind of person. Always seeing what is wrong with America. He thinks any effort that doesn’t reach 100% is a failure. I even agree with some of what he says but his approach is bombastic rather then pragmatic. If he was a coach he would be complaining about how the other team has a better player. He would talk about how refs make too many mistakes. He would talk about the how more fans showed for the other team. He would show any clips he could find of a late hit from this team and play it over and over again. This coach would have a team a resentful and angry. I want a coach who can inspire lead through example not just inflame how unfair things are.
3
If Sanders changes the Democratic Party in any way, it will be to ensure that neither he nor anybody like him ever runs as a Democrat again. The party has been playing with fire for decades, allowing one charismatic outsider after another to hijack its process. Barack Obama should have been the last: no party should allow so unqualified a candidate to be its front runner. As usual, they were too busy buffing their credentials and pretending they meant it to happen, anything to get back in power. That led to the disastrous Hillary campaign.
Hopefully the party will now follow the GOP model and get back to running at the grassroots level.
1
He misjudged America. I like alot of things he stands for, particularly some form of single payer. But I decided to support Warren, due to her being younger ,more level headed and having more knowledge of how our economy works than most
Republicans.
But I know that many Americans are scared by anyone to the left of Ted Cruz. I went to school in the south, and was stationed in the south in the Army. I know plenty of professionals here in northern NJ who are Dems, but who have told me they would never vote for Bernie.
The notion that you can berate people into supporting you is widespread amongst Bernie fans. It never works that way.
Bernie had a chance to widen his appeal. Instead, he doubled down on the "if you don't support me, you're impure and on the take" rhetoric.
1
Bernie's message resonantes. He's gotten over 700 delegates thus far. Obviously people care about what he has to say and agree with much of his agenda. He is still in the race. Good luck Joe. You're win isn't official until it's official. Also, FYI - If Bernie does not get the nomination I will either not vote or will support Trump. That might sounds crazy. It probably is. But I rather another 4 years of Trump than voting for the Dem Candidate the media is pushing down our throats. America needs to wise up and recognize what is in there best interest.
4
@Dave--As you say, it certainly is "crazy." If Bernie's not the nominee, you're voting for Trump? Why? For spite? To be a contrarian? The media is not pushing anything down the throats of people. The voters are determining the candidate. Not some Democratic monolith. Petulance and defiance are extremely poor reasons for voting to ignore the greater good of the country.
I believe Bernie is well-intentioned when he generalizes that "50% of Americans are struggling to put food on the table" but I don't think he realizes that many and possibly most of those same Americans would not wish to be characterized as such. I've spoken to folks who admit they'd rather see themselves as "winners" with Trump as opposed to "struggling losers" with Bernie and other progressives. Joe Biden offers a ready and tested alternative that can unify the country. It's time for Bernie and his supporters to get behind him if they are serious about their top priority being 1) to defeat Trump and 2) win back the Senate.
Shutting down every small business in the tri-state area is a radical idea, but corporate Dems didn't have to think twice. Providing medicare for all though, that goes too far!
4
I think what Bernie misjudged, and what severely disappoints many of us as well, is that he would receive such a harsh backlash and shut-out from media like the New York Times and others. And I say that as a subscriber and investors. From day one, even here, his message has been distorted and attacked, his giant rallies and non-corporate fundraising successes barely mentioned or un-reported, his small missteps and personality quirks magnified. Truly disheartening. Is this kind of truth worth it?
6
Trump's Party has ruined the People's House. We need to repair the punctured drywall, shattered glass and broken cabinets which the power-drunk Republicans who favor chaos left.
Biden looks like the best one for the job. He stands the best chance of restoring the home and patching things up with the neighbors.
Sanders may well offer better long-term prospects, but I think I'd rather fix things before I start tearing them upp again, even if the intent is good.
1
Give me a break. The NYT has pulled out all the stops in vilifying this man, cranking it to 11 when he became front runner a few weeks back. Now you ask if you've gone too far once the damage is done? His policies would come in pretty handy right now as NYT reports on the lack of health coverage in country and how the effects of the global pandemic will disproportionately affect those impacted by growing income inequality of this country. The complaints around Sanders often revolve around how to pay for his proposals. We will soon pay for the cost of doing nothing.
8
Bernie has addressed all the important things that America needs to help all working people. Like many others, I have been hungry to hear someone say what he's discussing.
But then Bernie either misread or had no read whatsoever on the remainder of voters. His declaration of being a Democratic Socialist was incredibly naive and out of touch with a nation of Boomers and Gen Xers who grew up on an education that informed us capitalism is God and socialism is the devil. Millennials, however, grew up in a world without the Soviet Union, Cold War, or detente and have no such inhibitions about the word, nor should they. It is the rest of us who need to readjust to the new normal.
Well, that's lovely in theory. Because Millennials don't vote, and most old dogs refuse to learn new tricks. If I had a dollar for every debate I've had about the meaning of socialism, what it means with the word 'democratic' in front of it, and how it relates to the more-Utopian nature of Scandinavia but not the dystopian problems of Venezuela and even North Korea, I could have afforded to bring Bernie directly into every American home to plead his case.
No one on the left wants to say it, but Bernie's self-proclamation of democratic socialism was a giant miscalculation. It will work for Congresswoman Cortez who will grow with her generation until they decide to vote and purge us of this mentality. But Bernie's day is now and he blew it.
Bernie misjudged the extent to which his 2016 support was anti-Hillary and not pro-Bernie.
3
Bernie is just ahead of his time, but only by a matter of months.
The systems is falling apart around us, he's been a voice crying out in the wilderness for decades. It's like we are living in 1st century Judea.
Millions of people are going to get sick and die, many of them will infect others, simply because they did not have insurance or were under insured. In Korea, the health system emphasizes going to the doctor early and often and it normally takes just minutes - this is done to catch illness while its still easily treatable. Americans don't go to doctors because they are afraid they'll find something and they can't afford that.
The evidence supporting Bernie is all around us but people have scales over their eyes and ears.
4
Bernie is right in his diagnosis of what's wrong with America. Biden is more electable.
All of American industry will be whining for more socialism for themselves. That's fine, but let's recognize it for what it is and quit giving Bernie such a hard time.
And let's extract some major concessions for ordinary Americans. We're tired of bailing out the capitalists.
4
Is Bernie's message of fairness to re instate smart social policies, oversight and regulations "radical."Wishing to educate everyone,to improve a broken health system, invest in Green Technologies sounds the the right path to me.
Socialism for the wealthy and Capitalism for the rest of us is running our civilized world into the ground.
4
Trump must be defeated!
I think Joe Biden has the best chance of doing that. Joe has said that he is all in and will campaign for Bernie should Bernie be the nominee. Maybe I missed it but Bernie did not say he would campaign for Joe when asked if he would in the debate last night.
If Sanders stays in the race I would like to see him commit to supporting Joe Biden should Biden be the nominee. I would also like to see him make a strong statement to his supporters to support Biden if he is the nominee.
2
If Bernie wanted to get the nomination, why did he run as a Democrat? He should not be mad at Democrats that fail to endorse him when he is not one of them. I know many people will say that independents don't win races, but running as an independent should have been able to get him on the presidential ballot, and people could have. made a choice to vote for him, or not. But then, he and his supporters wouldn't be able to blame Democrats.
This is not a country whose people care about the well-being of others. It never has been. In fact, that was kinda one of the main themes when the country was founded.
6
I think the most telling incidence related in this article is Bernie telling Weaver he could not pivot to help unify his Faithful behind the Democratic primary winner in 2016 because "you don't know what it's like to stand in front of 20,000 people."
Bernie waited his whole life for the screaming crowds -- he didn't care about anything else. He hated the Democratic Party, so didn't care about unity. And he knows he contributed to electing Trump by his actions then -- or he'd be savaging Biden now.
2
His vision is not radical, it is used in advanced countries that have a better standard of living that us here in the U.S.
among others we are falling behind by more silent but diligent countries that do their job better. An example of that is Germany where they developed a corona virus kit earlier than our "geniuses" here, without much fanfare, more effective, more accurate. This is the result of serious research and innovation in a socialist country like the one Bernie seems to want. The problem is always, that we don;t know what his real intentions are, I come from Venezuela where corrupt populist people got into power by saying what the majority of the population wanted to hear, and look at the results ..., some ideas are good, the real intentions are another thing. What's behind him, what would happen when He gets into power, is this a Pandora's box?, maybe , I am not taking risks, but the alternatives are mediocre, either Joe or The Donald.
1
The Democratic Party is splitting right down the middle.
I wont be surprised to see the newly ascendant Socialist party reduce the Dems to permanent minority status.
But to answer the question, Bernie misjudged America. Except for a very vocal base, not many Americans are willing to scrap "the system" with a "revolution", whatever that means.
Sander's, as much as any other politician, can rightfully be accused of being part of "the establishment" - For Decades. Sorry Senator Sanders', but your policies aren't any cleaner, or less establishment, than former Vice President Biden's.
1
Given the course of events, I now wonder how much of Mr Sanders' success against Mrs Clinton was a result of sexism - conscious and unconscious. Mr Biden is just as flawed a candidate as Mrs Clinton was, yet states that punished Mrs Clinton in the primaries have happily overlooked Mr Biden's flaws. There is no doubt in my mind that female candidates for office in the U.S., and throughout other liberal democracies, are judged on a much tougher criteria than their male counterparts.
2
I think this is a very balanced and fair article. However, I do think there has been a bias against Sanders in the NYT and other mainstream media. That bias may be conscious or unconscious; I'm not a mind reader. But it's there. And I'm not a Sanders supporter, plus I've been reading the NYT since I was 15 years old. I'm looking very objectively at the issue, and I do see bias against Sanders in the mainstream media.
5
Does the author of this article really believe that Bernie's vision is "radical"? When his policies are already being used by most other countries, and then some of them we in the US used to do ourselves? Really? How is it radical?
6
Unfortunately, Bernie's revolutionary zeal came at a time when voters are worried about the immediate future of their health care and his aggressive personality just sets the wrong tone regardless of the message.
The article says that Bernie offered “no across-the-board denunciations of Bernie Bro harassment,” but I witnessed this twice on TV. He said anyone who did this was disowned, not part of his campaign or movement. What more could he add? I believe this has been a major point of unfair attack of Bernie, throughout his campaigns and, in particularly stinging form, from Elizabeth Warren. Seriously, what more could he do than say multiple times that he disowns any behavior like that and that his is a peaceful, respectful campaign?
5
Given the course of events, I now wonder how much of Mr Sanders' success against Mrs Clinton was a result of sexism - conscious and unconscious. Mr Biden is just as flawed a candidate as Mrs Clinton was, yet states that punished Mrs Clinton in the primaries have happily overlooked Mr Biden's flaws. There is no doubt in my mind that female candidates for office in the U.S., and throughout other liberal democracies, are judged on a much tougher criteria than their male counterparts.
Given the course of events, I now wonder how much of Mr Sanders' success against Mrs Clinton was a result of sexism - conscious and unconscious. Mr Biden is just as flawed a candidate as Mrs Clinton was, yet states that punished Mrs Clinton in the primaries have happily overlooked Mr Biden's flaws. There is no doubt in my mind that female candidates for office in the U.S., and throughout other liberal democracies, are judged on a much tougher criteria than their male counterparts.
Bernie Sanders has a history, and while his message has always been about equality and fairness, that past molds his truncated message today while inextricably linking him to failed revolutions and corrupted socialist governments. That scares people and Unfortunately it’s way too late for him to nuance himself toward a safer, more thoughtful, inclusive path.
Maybe that’s the design, but it’s too bad. I hope I’m wrong, but as Both he and Warren have some great ideas. They were just too vague and “forced”.
After reading so many of these comments, I finally understand that Bernie's movement is more a cult than a political movement. Isn't one cult (Trump) proof enough that we don't need that mistake again?
1
I have neither pity nor sympathy for Sanders, but my heart does ache for his followers. He knows exactly what he's doing: he's stoking and then using the despair of many Americans, offering lavish bribes, hurling powerful (but impotent) language at his cleverly conjured boogeymen, all for the single reason of elevating himself to a position of power and prestige.
The telling moment of the 'debate' was when Sanders said scornfully to Biden, "You supported the other side and rallied support and got it passed, and my position lost." Yup, if Sanders supporters could put aside their feelings momentarily and evaluate the message there. Sanders has been on the losing side of everything he's touched because within the government of a nation of laws, he cannot get anything done.
To get anything done, he needs and wants exactly what he accuses Trump of seizing: dictatorial powers. Sanders will offer bribe upon bribe, he will offer to champion your causes, but the only thing he is interested in is outdoing Trump with highhanded absolutism. Forget the policy positions, they are written in smoke. Look at the demeanor of the candidate.
I cannot see myself having a conversation with either Trump or Sanders, while I find it easy to imagine speaking with Biden (or any of the other Democratic candidates).
2
If you do not have a tax payer funded healthcare system, you may pay more taxes, that's just the economics of it all. However what you do not have to do is worry, if you are not insured, whether you can go to the doctor or afford high priced medication and drugs. You do not have to worry that if you are involved in a terrible accident or have a life threatening disease, will your private healthcare insurance cover you.
Medicare for all, is not Socialist, it is just plain common sense. I hope that people in the US wake up to this reality and vote for change.
6
Can the Times please stop calling Bernie radical? What he is pushing for is not radical. What has happened to the Republican party over the past 40 years is truly radical. Can we at least be balanced a little bit. The US is an outlier in terms of advanced nations not in its liberality, but in its conservatism. We have a radically conservative government when compared with Western Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
6
Only one question: How do you pay for it?
His proposals exceed our yearly budget for the entire nation. Don't talk to me about what other nations do, we have to deal with what exists in our nation today. So I repeat myself: How do you pay for it?
Trump will beat Biden. More voters want to indulged than to vote for an establishment politician whose pitch is "return to the status quo ante." Although he held up last night, Biden's cognitive impairment will make him a target for savage right-wing attacks.
Bernie was all about challenging and inspiring. Many Americans seem permanently unwilling to vote for this kind candidate. It's always the same, i.e., "Nice, but not now. Maybe next time."
6
There is a very unattractive and patronizing arrogance to the leadership in the Sanders camp, which they seem surprisingly unaware of. The problem, they claim, is “the establishment”, which plots at every turn to defeat their savior.
And in their argument is a really toxic disrespect for the many millions of moderate to moderate-left Democrats who opted for moderate to moderate- left candidates. Adults with complex lives, families, careers, commitments, and responsibilities, who make their decisions in the adult fog of uncertainty and a certain knowledge that things don’t always turn out for the best. It’s their voices that have put Biden within reach of the presidency, no not some “establishment”.
1
I like Bernie because he’s authentic and caring. But I just don’t buy into his notions that America is the “worst” at everything, and that “we have no healthcare system.” Because it’s not being centrally managed doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Personally, I’m happy dozens of companies are racing forward with Coronavirus vaccine and treatment innovation, even if profit is the impetus. Biden’s line that America seeks “results not revolution “ was spot on.
If Bernie raises a voice for those who are falling behind, or can’t afford health insurance, great! But Americans know what they have, and aren’t seeking role models from Cuba, China or even Italy. Like Warren, Bernie never acknowledges anything positive about America and, therefore, Americans.
1
Bernie, a man with his heart in the right place, but ultimately seen as a crackpot due to his seeming inability to figure out the potential cost of his proposals and how to pay for them. He always seems to think that “the rich” can pay for anything he thinks government should provide. Alas, he never understood that our economy requires investment, much of which comes for the “fat cats” he derides on an hourly basis. Maybe he should reflect on the old saw: A poor man never gave anyone a job.
Bernie cannot gain power because he is attacking everyone. You have to pick a small number of key targets and focus a large body of people on that problem and get their votes.
This is why Bernie is so ineffective even though much of what he says is true. Do we need single payer health care? Yes. If you say you are suddenly going to put millions of people out of work (health insurance industry) are they going to vote for you? No. C'mon people - you have to be more clever than that to change the system.
"Wear alienation as a badge of honor" is a description that has started to occur to me about many of Sanders' supporters. The MFA, free college, free day care and then driving off the road into free health care for illegal immigrants are a form of rationalization- as in the defense mechanism to make a more publicly acceptable expression of an underlying unconscious conflict. The issue for many seems to be more about process than result. They are alienated and disaffected and Bernie is the perfect conduit for their anger directed toward social authority. As an old leftist who has defied authority for a lifetime he proves to them that their beliefs aren't just a mental state young people transition through but a legitimate lifelong calling. I am not optimistic that those who fall into that category will support Biden.
2
Look around. Look at Wall Street and the economy. Sanders is calling for a return to FDR style governance. If you don't think that working people, upon whom this economy depends, need for things to be changed significantly then things just haven't gotten bad enough yet. I watched the debate yesterday. Biden is basically saying nothing needs to be changed. There is a video of Biden talking to wealthy donors saying nothing will significantly change. But it seems like the die has been cast. We are headed into a catastrophe with a Herbert Hover style democrat in Joe Biden at the head of the ticket. Wake up Dems.
4
"It’s indeed a curious fact that those who despise Sanders and those who worship him all tend to base their appraisals almost entirely on his words, past and present, rather than on his deeds — to see him as a bomb-throwing outsider even though he has held elected office for 39 years, about half his life. "
I have zero sympathy about his supposedly being "misunderstood." He's the one in charge of his own communication. If he doesn't want to be regarded as a bomb-thrower, he should stop throwing bombs. Simple solution.
As a life-long Democrat, I cannot abide Senator Sanders. The thing that I like least about him is his implacable rejection of the notion of compromise. Sanders’ view of government is as a win-lose model, which is often a sure way to get nothing done.
But democracy cannot work without compromise. We see the win-lose model at work in the partisan chasm between political parties in Congress. We see it in the way in which Senator McConnell has nullified the Senate as a legislative body. And we see it in the way in which Donald Trump is trying to make the presidency into a monarchy.
The irony here is that by his rejection of compromise, Sen. Sanders has proven himself to be just another wannabe authoritarian. His way or the highway. I will never vote for someone with that inflexible, win-lose approach to government in a democracy. Why would I trade Poison A for Poison B? I’ll take the highway.
2
I don't think Sanders' supporters aggressive online behaviour helped his campaign or his lack of willingness to address them and get them in line. I still see the laughing emojis everywhere mocking posts. I also think many of his ideas were very good, but his lack of pliability felt off putting for me personally. I don't want my tax dollars to pay off what others borrowed for example. I think that is wrong. I can see removing the interest though as a compromise. I don't see Sanders as a person that compromises however.
Unlike the private property principle, the need principle has no intrinsic limitations, either physical or logical. Private property is objective & specific; need is subjective, & universal. Under the rule of private property, a claimant is entitled only to the equivalent of his or her production; this is a built-in check that automatically proportions demand to what is available. Private property enforces productive responsibility; it establishes orderly, dependable relationships between people, & between people & their environment. The need principle, by contrast, abolishes personal productive responsibility, severs dependable property relationships, & provides no mechanism to relate the size of the product to the demands of claimants. This is why Bernie can't tell us how much universal healthcare cost. Thus, the underproductive or nonproductive may claim any part of the product or even all of it, in the name of their human need. Today in the United States, we are reminded by neighboring countries in need that poor nations have a moral claim to the wealth of rich nations no less than the poor within the United States have a moral claim of their own productive countrymen. Regardless of this economic paradox I choose to place no expectations on others when sharing love, kindness & good vibes. Since at times, I go unnoticed, unheard, ignored & unvalidated. Despite this, I strive to be conscious, grateful, forgiving, envisioning a perfect future, in the moment & blessed.
America is hurtling down the tubes. Joe Biden will sit at the wheel until we pass the next marker. Bernie is proposing that he, or someone, at least try to steer.
2
Well, after garnering the majority of 18-49 yr olds so...Yeah, probably not misjudging. The boomers? Yep, Biden can't win w/o the youngers. So far Biden does not have the youngers nor has he made successful overtures.
read a delegate total sometimes... Me and Florida are laughing at your candidate tomorrow...
another 200 delegates for Biden...
@Richard Good on you!...I'm sorry we'll all be shaking our heads in November when the anointed and compromised DNC establishment candidate (w/little 18-49 support) loses worse than Clinton. Don't worry I'd expect you'll then blame Bernie too. And the cycle will begin anew, but worse. Great show!
I am a liberal/progressive because I believe you ought to pay for what you get. That is why I'm against racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia--because those are all rooted in segregating people *by traits that they did not choose or earn*.
At the same time, I do not mind segregating people by traits that they choose: how hard they work, do they bother pursue education or not, do they save and invest, or spend and enjoy. These are things that people *choose* and thus I find it acceptable that some people end up with a better life than others.
Thus I believe in a carbon tax to force those that use fossil fuels to pay the entire cost. I believe in a high inheritance tax for blindingly obvious reasons. And I believe that children ought to get equal primary school eduction, so that children of poor and rich parents work equally hard to achieve success.
Bernie and his followers seem to understand none of this, instead simplistically braying "rich bad, poor good." Socialism is based on the lie that you can get something for nothing. Thermodynamics says otherwise. Between liberal fantasies and physics, I'll bet on physics every time.
4
I can see why Bernie faltered: He was constantly yelling at everyone and his young fans didn't turn up at the polls.
Bernie's values, undoubtedly, are in the right place but his ardent fans (some of which are my closest friends) would bite your head off if you criticized any of his proposals with nuance. It just got a bit too extreme. A lot of people naturally recoiled from him.
1
I think a big part of the Reagan Revolution was to set in place rules so one could whine, down the road, about Bernie's form of revolution.
1
Castro’s plan to bring literacy to his island was indeed a lofty goal, but the facts are that Cuba’s idea of literacy is our idea of an elementary school reading level. That’s better than nothing, but Bernie’s touting of this Castro ideal is misleading
1
The last thing most Americans want or need right now, especially with the Coronavirus pandemic and tanking economy, is an agitated, high-strung man with unkempt gray hair, a disheveled demeanor, and a harsh Brooklyn accent screaming that he's a socialist and proud of it and that it’s time for a revolution in America. Bernie is correct in many of his beliefs, and it’s true that average Americans have been duped by America’s aristocracy, better known as the one percent, for a very long time. There’s really nothing wrong with his message; it’s the style of delivery of that message that is so objectionable.
Millions of us never misjudged Sanders. His win was always going to be an uphill battle against the Democratic establishment and the corporate-backed media. And, yes, Mr. Biden, there is a difference between the Democratic establishment you are thoroughly a part of and the average American desperately in need of universal health care, a higher minimum wage, and student loan debt forgiveness.
It is a shame that in this time of urgent need for a leader who believes in national health care coverage as we face a pandemic that could end up killing millions worldwide by the time a vaccine is developed, we are faced with a general election between a neofascist and a neoliberal, neither of whom believe in universal health care or a more equal and just America.
But, sure, MSNBC and CNN (and even the New York Times) can continue to focus their attention on a media produced and driven Bernie Bros. stereotype of Sanders supporters over real issues that the Republicans and Democrats have voted for that are killing Americans and people in other nations every day.
3
It was an uphill battle against people who don't support him. It's really as simple as that.
Bernie would be doing far better if all of his supposedly worthy Democrat opponents had not suddenly dropped out. Why did they suddenly decide that they did not want to run the US?
1
Where was this article when it actually mattered and could have made a difference? Shame on the NYT for not publishing an in-depth, objective review of Sanders' record before Super Tuesday or at least before Big Tuesday. Now it's probably too late for Bernie to get the nomination. But I'm glad he is far-sighted enough to know that his ideas are more important than himself. Eventually, and hopefully sooner rather than later, the rest of the country will embrace his policies and the US can join the ranks of civilized nations that properly support and care for its citizens.
1
Bernie is not a Democrat. He has always said he is independent. Why then did he expect - no demand - the democrats to support him. He refused to compromise in any of his opinions. If one disagreed she was vilified by his followers. His unyielding nature was most prominent in how little real legislation he got enacted.
Some of hie ideas are good, and we DEMOCRATS should include them. As a leader, nope, no thank-you no!
Sanders is like that contestant on Jeopardy who is interesting but blurts out too many wrong answers to win.
The best option we have has always been Biden. He will bring people together and accomplish what Sanders never would. Sanders had zero chance of passing his agenda through even a Democratic majority. Obama barely passed the ACA despite having a filibuster proof majority. Biden can compromise and unify.
3
I am calling for Bernie to drop out right now so that the primaries can be cancelled. I am a supporter of most of his policies, but he can’t win the nomination and he knows it. Please, Bernie, act on behalf of the nation’s health and whatever is left of our safety. People need to stay home, not go out to vote and expose themselves to this virus.
2
Senator Bernie Sanders underestimated the two shifts that took place among the American electorate. First, the Republican Party acquired the support of a significant part of less-educated working poor whites. Second, the Democratic Party acquired the support of more-educated urban white middle class statuesque-ists. The later provide lip-sympathy towards the working poor but not in action. Wall Street and big Pharmacutical companies naturally support establishment candidates because they know that it is going to be business as usual under democratic dispensation. Why all formar Democratic candidates are supporting Senator Biden? Because, all of them are part of the establishment.
President Trump on the other hand appeals to the gut-instincts of the average Joe (no pun intended). Can he deliver on his promises? May be - may be not. Hope wins the electorate not political fine print in the parlor rooms of the urban elitists.
Bernie may not win the primary, but he won the country’s ideological debate.
The Coronavirus just puts a finer point on it.
3
newsflash! the point of running is to win....the second place "thanks for trying" prize is vapor.
being totally unaware of how Democrat politics works is a thing Bernie is good at.
Most people in the United States are not in the mood for revolution, upheaval and uncertainty at the present time.
3
Biden appears to be in cognitive decline. I saw the same process play out with both of my parents. No one should be voting for him.
2
@Steve
True. But he is in much better shape than Trump. Maybe showing the signs of Reagan. Hopefully he will appoint a strong cabinet of sharp people who will do the work and lead. He can sign executive orders. But I'm even skeptical about this. He's so washed out.
ummm...me and the rest of Florida....disagree with ya...
we bury Bernie tomorrow....add 200 more delegates to Biden column.
We've had a revolting Trump revolution since 1/2017. Americans are worn out. We don't need a new President who will cause more turmoil with his revolution. We need a President who will reassure us that everything Trump has destroyed will come back...stronger. I need to once again FEEL GOOD about the country I love. Joe Biden is what America needs right now.
1
Sanders is his own worst enemy. He would have easily won the nomination outright had he not insisted labeling himself a socialist and praising Castro for “some of the things” he did. I am absolutely astonished that Bernie couldn’t see the forest through the trees. He did this to himself. He should have known better especially given this is his “last hurrah.”
4
“It’s time to ask the question of where the power is in America,” Mr. Sanders said in his final remarks of what could be his final debate. “Who owns the media? Who owns the economy? Who owns the legislative process?”
A President Biden is not going to be asking those questions.
And, time is running out for those imperative questions to be asked!
2
It's simply this. Democrats want nothing more than tossing trump out of Washington in November. It bothered them that Sanders had electability flaws, and they got scared off. Biden, hardly my first choice for most of the debates and primaries, coalesced support when he showed, in South Carolina, that his electability claim might not be malarkey. No, Biden may lack Sanders' or Elizabeth Warren's commitment to social reform, but he's on the good side of everything trump represents -- greed, lying, hatred, ignorance, bigotry and immorality. So he can't finish a thought. So his voting record of 35 years ago is problematic. His heart appears in the right place, and we can live with fumbling, bumbling answers to questions. He will do no harm. He might help win the Senate and keep the House. We can live with that for four years, if it means 4 no trump.
3
Sander's proposals are sound, for the most part, but I can't see him beating Trump. I don't think the majority of Americans are ready for drastic changes, and that's a shame, because you need them. You country sorely needs some form of health care for all, like the rest of the civilized world, and a wealth tax is badly needed, too.
Sanders has changed the debate, and for that he should be applauded. But he's old now, and needs to pass his baton on to a younger person.
1
The problem with Bernie pointing to his past accomplishments is that he hasn't accomplished much of anything in his thirty years in Congress. At least not anything that made a huge difference. And how is it that a man who has been in Congress for that long, isn't part of the "establishment" that he supposedly abhors?
He barged into the scene right when we could least afford it and attacked the candidate that was opposed by a lunatic. And his attacks probably dissuaded enough voters from voting for her that instead of any progress at all, we are left fighting for the very existence of our Democracy.
That's the only record of Bernies that really matters right now.
3
I don't think we misjudged Sanders. I think some of his ideas are wonderful, but probably not implemental at this time. He just doesn't seem presidental. I'm sorry to say this, but it's the truth.
While Biden does seem too casual and misinformed at times, he's clearly the better candidate.
Sanders must pick his moment to withdraw from the race and endorse Biden. Our country needs to come together to defeat the current occupant of the White House and rid ourselves of the stain of his utter lack of governance and criminality.
3
Remember that the 2016 election was “given away” by the stay-aways. Who will generate more stay-aways and possibly giving the election to Trump again.
If you don’t like trump, you better vote for the Democratic candidate, whoever it this.
I know, I know, the Electoral college didn’t help. But if you are in a state that is likely to vote differently than you would like, that’s all the more reason to vote. After all, others may think Trump is a shoo-in and stay home.
What is so hard to understand?
The majority of Democratic primary voters overwhelmingly support Biden, not Sanders,
No mental contortions necessary.
4
My dearest wish is that the NYT ran this soft-focus profile as a prelude to Bernie suspending his campaign. If he must wait until Wednesday morning, so be it, though I’d love to see an announcement today.
This will be an enormous test of his character. I hope he passes it.
Fact; Sanders can’t even capture the majority of the registered Democratic vote. He could never win a national election.
Face reality and unify to beat the misfortune that will result if Trump is re-elected.
2
One of my problems with Sanders (there are several) has been his surrogates, particularly the squad. I was hopeful as they entered Congress with their passion, but became turned off by their divisive antics, ridicule of others, walk-backs. Their own supporters can pass no purity test so go figure. He should just step off. Nice try but lots of short-sightedness in that movement -- we the people don't want a revolution!
1
Radicalism is a relative concept. From here, in Canada, the only showed common sense. Most of our youth has access to school at all levels and each time I hurt myself severely (skiing or road biking - 3 times) it didn't cost me a dime and I received world class cares.
I would consider an extremist any politician who tells me these programs are too radical.
2
One moment stood out for me in the debate between Joe Biden and Bernie sanders. Sanders had just emphatically stated that Biden's health care plan building on ACA just would not do, we had to have Medicare for All and abolition of the insurance industry in order to cope with today's health care crisis. The debate then turned to climate change, and Sanders turned to Biden and categorically stated that Biden's 1 Trillion Dollar plan on climate change as just not adequate, it required 16 Trillion Dollars. Senat9or sanders doubtless knows that a revolution almost never ushers in a more equitable, more progressive society: all it does is to displace one class by another in power.
The key argument of this article, did Bernie misjudge America, overlooks the simple reality that Bernie Sanders has held the same central convictions since the late 1960s. Whether you love or despise Sanders, he has never once tried to judge America. That is his fundamental weakness as a future manager of the world's most important bureaucracy....he is an ideologue and has been since he headed to the woods to start a commune and has never changed.
Progressive media reporting that Sanders' policies are radical is the problem. His policies are sensible, logical, and the majority of Americans who understand them - support them. Conservative media pretending Sanders' policies are socialist and communist as a political ploy should have been challenged by progressive media all along. Now we'll get more center right policies while climate change kills the planet and income inequality destroys Americans families.
2
Both.
I think that many people do misjudge Bernie's basic decency as he pushes his Democratic Socialist agenda. I saw his interview with Anderson Cooper last night and was impressed with his calm, rational demeanor. He is a good man.
I think Mr. Sanders has misjudged the popularity of his proposals when you realize that universal care while very popular in theory has not won him an election. To my knowledge he has never proposed such an initiative during his days in the Senate. ACA barely passed. M4A?
As a result, he was reduced to listening to those Delphic pollsters who made his proposals, when posed in certain terms got 70% approval ratings. But were not so popular, when coupled with questions about their employer provided insurance going away, the price tag in taxes.
People can despair that anyone who disagrees with Bernie is
a) immoral
b) insanely stupid
c) a provincial hick
But voters vote for who and what they want regardless of pollsters and uncertain political promises.
1
This guy is all noise. And noise excites many of the young and the eternally disaffected. None of the comments from him or his supporters lead me to believe that I would want to be governed by Bernie--or the people he would have do the actual governing.
Because he is a bomb thrower. Or, put another way, he is a fraud. I do not mean that he doesn't believe his own mantra; I mean that he knows very well that none of what he is promising will happen, for reasons that have to do with him (his personal limitations superseding his political skills) and for reasons that have nothing to do with him (the shifting, unconscious, needs and perceptions, "the mood" of the electorate).
In my reckoning, all politicians are frauds--until, that is, they produce results. Some do, to varying degrees; many more don't, and it isn't necessarily their fault. To have your big message be "revolution" and "taking on the big guys" is not an astute reading of the overwhelming majority.
There is a reason that, along with the "revolution" songs blasting at Bernie rallies, you did not hear John Lennon's "Revolution" (there is, right now, a free you tube video of the Beatles performing this).
The generation coming of age and at a young age in the late 1960's had an assortment of charismatic radicals coming at them from every direction. There were marches and riots and assassinations and actual calls for the overthrow of the established order. The same "establishment" that saved Western Liberalism.
Whenever I hear someone cheering a so-called moderate candidate ---- face it, these are closet conservatives ---- I remember a near car accident I had driving back from a contract in California in February 2016. CNN was interviewing campaign managers from the Clinton and Sanders camp. The Clinton manager attacked his counter-part for being a hypocrite for taking money from the oil industry. The counter-part responded with a list of several thousand oil field workers who contributed a total of some million dollars individually. Then, he went on to list the half a dozen contributions Hillary took from big oil field CEOs amounting to about three million.
That, my friends, says it all.
2
Sanders, by neglect, allowed Republican public relations firms and moderate Democrats to control the dialog "Who is Bernie?" Now he is paying the price. Labelled a neo- communist, informed by naive, a panderer to public assistance seekers, out-of-touch, out-of-date and out of the American character. Bernie may be none of those but to most Americans he looks like an old communist from the 1930's.
I have often wondered whether Bernie Sanders is a deluded megalomaniac. After reading quotes from him in this article I no longer have any doubts. “Look, what we’re trying to do is take on the entire political establishment,” he repeated. “We’re taking on the entire corporate establishment, the entire media establishment," Taking on everybody! He has taken on NOBODY. It is all talk, critique, railing, flailing, and simpleton programs. Taking on would mean getting legislation passed through both houses of Congress, signing it, and then winning in court before Mitch McConnell's Federal judges as each law was challenged. But before that it would mean getting such a Congress elected. And it may mean getting himself elected. But he is right. Nobody in American history has done that. Nobody in American history has run a national campaign by waving a red flag before ALL the powerful constituencies so that they are energized and organized against you, which makes me conclude that Sanders is not just a megalomaniac, he is a simpleton and a fool the likes of which, I hope, we never see again soon. I do not feel sorry for Bernie Sanders but I do for his supporters whose need and despair were so cruelly played upon by Sanders who wants to run in the most dangerous election in the history of the United States but not understand power or politics.
2
All of his life Sanders has been trying to replicate the energy of the Russia Revolution (but not its Gulag). His proposals come directly from the Russian Constitution of 1936. But he is oblivious of the problems inherent in that system and if he knows them he rationalizes them away as he does to this day as we see with regard to the Castro Dictatorship. This is his Last Hurrah. He thinks he was close because of the young people who believed what he peddled but he was always a minor character. AOC will take up his torch and have her life come to the same bitter end. We are too pragmatic of a people to fall for these Pied Pippers.
Can anyone state what has Bernie accomplished legislatively in 40 years? I cannot think of any major bills with his name attached.
1
@FreedomRocks76
You could start by checking his Wikipedia page.
He gained tons of funding for community health centers (twice), expanded VA medical care (with John McCain) established a national cancer registry, supported family farmers, passed energy efficiency and conservation programs, protected workers' pensions, and passed a bipartisan resolution to end US support for the war in Yemen - which Trump vetoed - among other things.
3
Steadfast? You know who is steadfast? The uncompromising Republican machine. For 40 years.
Radical vision? In America, I guess. It certainly would appear that way after the death by a thousand cuts administered by the uncompromising machine. Over 40 years. I wonder how many people in this country have been anesthetized/programmed to believe that all was good in this center-right country up to November 2016.
Bernie Sanders doesn't want a return to pre 2016 'normal' via application of a thousand bandages.
Too many people would die along the way.
That he has been fighting the machine for 40 (or more) years is testament to his conviction and testament to the power of his unyielding and heartless adversary.
And some of you find the man 'egotistical' and 'boring'.
Astounding. Simply astounding.
Bernie Sanders will not win the nomination. That is a shame, but we can hope at least some of his conviction will appear in watered down planks come late summer, and that President Biden will do his best to promote their implementation.
He will have to, considering the uncompromising machine.
3
We like to live dangerously when we have no skin in the game. If my neighbor's daughter is running off with her high school sweetheart during their junior year in high school to pursue acting careers in Hollywood, I am likely to say to him stuff about merits of dream chasing, and 'who knows. . . ." (because she is not my daughter).
Bernie does well with people with no skin in the game, nothing to lose (and that is a lot of us). Of course I think it is cool that college, healthcare is free, student loans are paid out, minimum wage is 20 bucks, all at the billionaires' expense. Bernie promises benefits for free, and no sacrifice. He does not say he is going to make Russia pay for it.
Now look at republicans. Trump promises to hurt poor, non-whites, and all of them foreign people. He asks for sacrifice from his voters very clearly; he promises that the American poor will be poorer because he is going to help out his rich buddies. He promises great health care, which for an American means - he will deny healthcare to 'those' people. He promises to make Mexico pay. Republican voters are willing to make any sacrifice to get back to 1950 social order. Trump gets America; we have transformed from a generous nation, science driven nation, to a capricious, suspicious nation.
In this nation, there is no place for Bernie and his rainbows; it is a land of Trump, barbed wire, assault rifles, and 'whites only" enclaves.
1
So anybody who disagrees with him doesn't even deserve to have an opinion, because they are all pawns of 'the establishment.'
I get it.
After all, we've gone through four years of a politician who thinks the same way about his opponents, scoffing at them when not condemning them.
Americans need some breathing space from all of that. Senator Sanders offers more of the same.
3
What is this a joke? Sanders never had a chance with the media in this country. This paper alone had sometimes three hit pieces a day. Almost every columnist wrote negative pieces more than once. And this happened at all the news outlets. Too afraid to change. Too much invested in the status quo, even though it is a road to nowhere. It still goes on, Last night at the the debate they started getting on his case about praising certain aspects of countries. Like the Educational system & highly regarded medical system of Cuba. The Sandinistas in Nicaragua were way better than the murderous Somaza regime. But no those nuances are not allowed. Most of the country wants Medicare For All. esp if it was really explained.
5
@Doctor Woo - You're absolutely right.
1
Both. The Heisenberg Relativity Principle explains why. “A phenomenon under observation is affected by being observed”. Physicist Isaac Newton explained it even better. “For every action there is a reaction”.
Indeed. I react to Sanders. I don't believe his promises. But that’s me.
Vermonter here. Bernie is the real deal. Yes he's human and flawed, but he admits that. He is educable, he cares about people, he's a decent person. He's also bright, experienced, and a thinker, a problem solver. He would be a great President. Great.
US politics is so corrupt, the electorate so jaded, when someone like Bernie comes along a lot of people can't even recognize him for what he is.
6
It's sorry to see that these two candidates are the best the Democrats have.
1
The DNC will nix a Sanders candidacy. There is no opposition party.
1
Life has taught me that the centre-right always wins, by embracing the Left’ ideas whose time has come. That is because the conservative perspective tends to ensure the continuity of everyday life we all so deeply need.
Perhaps Mr. Sander’s role has been that of a prophet. Loss is the price he is paying—knowingly—for his ideas to win.
To me, that is the definition of a politician worthy of the name.
1
Tomorrow, after the votes are tallied, Sanders will be down an additional 400 delegates to the already 150 primary delegates Biden led him by after the two preceeding Tuesday Primaries.
Sanders message for Revolutioinary Socialism is just way too radical to the majority of the electorate. McGovern took a similar path during the 70's and failed, resulting in his losing to Richard Nixon with that ghost of elections-past still lingering to this day.
1
You people who love Sanders so much just don’t get it.
Sanders has been the primary sponsor of three laws that were signed into law - two of which to name a post office. That’s it - just three!
Why? He won’t compromise and can’t work with people. For all his populist talk, he would be a terrible president.
Oh, and Biden has been the primary sponsor of 42 bills that were signed into law.
4
@Steven Roth
Bernie gained funding for community health centers and expanded VA medical care, established a national cancer registry, supported family farmers, passed energy efficiency and conservation programs, protected workers' pensions, and passed a bipartisan resolution to end US support for the war in Yemen - which Trump vetoed.
Plus he fundamentally changed the debate about the direction of policy in our country, which Biden never has.
2
Americans for the most part are selfish and fearful. So I am not surprised that many have not embraced Bernie’s message vision for a more equitable and inclusive nation. They’re actually their own worst enemy. Be prepared for even worse times ahead, folks.
2
"We are taking on the establishment."
Trump ran on this same theme.
I think most Americans have heard all of this foolishness they can stand.
Can we ever go back to normal, please? If that's even possible.
1
I have always suspected that Sanders truly enjoys being a loner, a voice crying in the wilderness from the fringe.
That's fine but to go into politics (outside of dear, little Vermont) and expect to have your agenda implemented strikes me as bizarre.
I've always begrudgingly admired a true socialist candidate for the presidency, Norman Mattoon Thomas.
Can't say the same about Bernard Sanders.
1
This story is as much about the Democratic Party as it is about Bernie Sanders.
The Democratic Party betrayed us. It betrayed its voters. It did the same thing to its own voters as the Republican Party for so long did to its own. It used them against their own interests, for the narrow advantages of those who own the Party.
Bernie told the truth about that. So the story is not just about the truth teller, it is about the truth, and about the liars.
2
Even if Bernie doesn't get the nomination, he changed America forever. Someone else will one day enact the measures he called for. Between now and then many will suffer and die. Who's to blame? The MSM and the voters themselves for being ignorant in choosing the wrong candidate. Bernie is too good for America but he is giving it his best shot. Bernie is ahead of his time. I'm ashamed by my fellow voters. They're shockingly uninformed. I'm ashamed by papers like the NYTimes. They're shockingly biased towards corporations, the wealthy and the corrupt and their reporting shows it. People will die without universal coverage and yes, biased reporting will have played a part. I watch The Hill now and will forever refuse to subscribe to the NYTimes. The next generations see you clearly. You failed us all. But anyway... Bernie is a hero to me and will forever have my respect. He deserves to be president more than anyone I've ever seen in my life. May that dream come true. May compassion win, for once in this political hellscape.
3
Bernie misjudged America. He believes that with smoke and mirrors America will sit adoringly at his feet. He should be in the guinness book of records as the longest serving elected official with the fewest accomplishments.
“...a local teachers’ union organizer named Stacy Davis Gates, would be pointedly warning the crowd, ‘See, moderation is a dream killer.’ And then, ‘Moderation is inhumane.’”
Plotting any range of beliefs on a graph produces a bell-shaped curve. This is because with any sizable population, most of the responses (beliefs) will fall in the middle of the extremes. This is not just a statistics trick, it is an immutable law of human behavior. Radicals of any stripe may wish to believe everyone shares their zeal and enthusiasm, but it just isn’t true. It is easy to fall into this trap, not least, perhaps, because most of the people with whom any of us interact are highly likely to share our beliefs.
If, however, you widen your research, you will see a larger picture, a picture that immutably shows that moderation isn’t a “dream killer,” nor is it “inhumane.” Moderation is, whether you want to believe it or not, where most people live.
1
What a lot of analysis about Sanders loses sight of is that much of his support is not from Democrats.
I am not a Democrat, and could not vote for Sanders in the primary. I did, however, give his campaign a substantial amount of money.
I see zero reason to give similar support to Biden.
Biden has been exactly the opposite of what I want in a president. He tried to cut Social Security and Medicare, a fact which he lies about now, part of a pattern of dishonesty. His support for banks and the credit card industry hurt many regular Americans, as ably pointed out by Ms Warren when she testified before Senator Biden many years ago. He voted for the illegal Iraq war, the worst foreign policy decision since Vietnam, and, frankly, being either stupid enough or morally bankrupt enough to support that war should disqualify anyone from elective office.
Biden is supported by billionaires and the comment in the article “I’ve never met a Sanders supporter,” rings sadly true. The rich really don’t like him. They do like Biden, but it isn’t personal. They expect payback, and “nice guy” Joe will keep his side of the bargain.
If Democrats choose Joe, he’s theirs. The 40 percent of independents don’t really share their enthusiasm.
Try getting elected without my support. You might- Trump is reviled now. But then again, you thought you’d win last time with your “best qualified candidate ever.”
Want my vote? Win it, Democrats. Good luck if the candidate is Joe.
3
Sanders is a rigid ideologue who spews nothing but marxist class warfare rhetoric. He paints profit as immoral. Profit is what puts food on your table. Government can regulate and in very rare cases it can take over a service (such as roads), but Bernie's marxist dream of eliminating private insurance is taking a huge risk on a system that is largely functional but farr from perfect. We need to fix the parts of the "establishment" that are broken, but destroying the establishment is not the answer. Imagine what would happen to the cost of college if you made it "free" for everyone. Sanders lacks what anyone who wants to president needs, and that is the ability to think outside of his marxist box and be able to make a case for socialism on the basis of enlightened self interest to capitalists who do indeed exert a lot of control over the economy. His revolution is going to fall flat on its face, as anyone not born yesterday agrees.
The USA is still not ready for The Great Society. Will it ever be?
The Bernie Sanders supporters are online mostly. They crowd every single article, every twitter poll - they suffocate dissent. It is sad that they feel like they have to generate such a false reality. The rest of America has decisively chosen Joe Biden.
1
I will never forgive Biden for what he did to Anita Hill. Biden was in large part responsible for Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court seat, and all the 5-4 Supreme Court decisions that Thomas supported.
2
I hope there is Karma for all the members of the corporate media elite who have betrayed this country for decades, nodding their heads as working Americans have been squeezed from all angles in so many unrelenting ways, as our public and social services have been attacked, and as our infrastructure has crumbled. The New York Times systematic and unrelenting campaign against Bernie Sanders has been revolting and is the nail on the coffin. I can promise you that I am not the only one enraged and radicalized by what the corporate sector and its media minions have done.
1
What goes around comes around. In the 1920's America had social and income inequality comparable to today. And it was a real progressive cause. And who was there to ask Americans to do something about it? A socialist named Eugene Debs. And how far did he go? Not very. Americans may talk the talk of what is needed for drastic change, but they have never walked the walk.
1
I would vote for Bernie in a New York minute if I thought he could beat Trump but Im afraid the GOP would make toast of his "socialist" leanings and with the most dangerous president in history, we have no choice other than to nominate Biden who appeals to the middle.
Sadly we are stuck with another compromise since Hilary trashed any chance for Sanders winning in 2016 when he had a real chance to lead this country in the right direction. Now we are in crisis mode and cant risk another 4 years of the whining wrecking ball in the Whitehouse.
1
Obama promised change in a vision for the future, of how we can work together. It was very optimistic, and he delivered it SO WELL. Obama was ultimately not a great leader.
Sanders was specific, negative/combative, radical, and unrealistic about how things would get done. That would appeal to a certain portion of Democrats but, as we saw, would not expand beyond that group.
Give me great ideas, ambitious ones even, but be honest about how they will be accomplished or you risk sounding like a liar or just crazy.
1
Universal Healthcare. Free Public College Tuition. A relatively modest minimum wage that is historically reasonable and barely above the bare minimum required. An urgent plan to deal with climate change after 50 years of dithering and the increasing reality human civilization as we know it is facing it’s most severe existential threat ever.
Recognizing that many of the wealthy and corporate interests in this country have become increasingly selfish, greedy and are undermining our country and culture and corrupting the political process to do so even further threatening our economic and political stability.
Really ? How so ? It is actually all quite moderate and reasonable. None of that is radical !
Who wrote that headline ? Your bias is very clear and your judgement is highly questionable.
5
Bernie only has the young vote, and with that constiuency it is a one trick pony. They only care about somone relieving them of their student debt.
1
The conversation has been shepherded rightward by the media and the wealthy - even in a full-blown social crisis, they still trumpet a return to the status quo. To blame older African-American voters who are rightly suspicious of whom white voters are actually going to support is disingenuous.
Sure, but why shouldn't young people question and insult? Our generation has stolen all the wealth.
1
"he remained steadfast in his radical vision" => only in a far-right nation like America can the social policies standard in most other developed democracies be considered a "radical vision." Americans, free your minds.
2
The voters are speaking, folks, as they are supposed to do. They are rejecting Bernie. Hold the excuses, please. They smack of delusion. They also reveal something more troubling -- a strain of the anti-democratic, of "ordinary people can't be trusted." In our system, they must be, for better and even sometimes for worse.
2
Sanders is a socialist who liked the Communists, honeymooned in the USSR in the Cold War, praised Castro, ETC.
He has always been honest, consistent, authentic, and an extreme Leftist.
This has never been truly popular in the USA, then or now.
2
Bernie Sanders misjudged himself.
Calling himself a “democratic socialist” was not only stupid, turning off voters who otherwise we’re attracted to his message, but it was off the mark. A true socialist — which Sanders is not — would support the nationalization of major industries: airlines, banks, energy, etc. Sanders wants socialized medicine, but that’s about it. He rails against the pharmaceutical companies and banks and oil companies, but he’s never gone so far as to say that the government should take them over.
Sanders really is a “social democrat,” in the European tradition — he supports much higher taxes, and subsidies to the poor and middle class, with the aim of creating a more egalitarian, classless society. That’s what Denmark and other Scandinavian countries — which he most wants to emulate — have become. And it was “social democrats,” not “socialists,” who made them that way.
Sanders would have been wise to better understand the term “socialist” before attaching it to himself. He certainly paid a steep price for this mistake.
1
If Sanders thinks he is all that her professes, then he should take his followers and head to a third party. Quit fighting the ‘establishment’ and build your own.
1
Bernie Sanders for decades has been the quintessential American populist, if there ever was one.
When you distill down everything he says, it is just "vote for me, and I'll give you everything you want for free: free healthcare, free childcare, free education, free retirement, free...free...free...free" Only if it was so easy.
2
Oh, how I would have loved to see a debate between VP Biden and Senator Warren.
“Radical vision”
Bernie is not a radical. He’s an FDR social democrat. He would be considered moderate in the nations everyone — including Trump — admires (Norway, Sweden, Denmark). Why do you people think that the protections, services, and benefits that the Greatest Generation and their Baby Boomers children had are radical? Why do you think that healthcare for all, which every other nation in the world has, is radical? Something is seriously wrong with Americans, their government and their corporations — especially corporate news for not remaining objective but instead using inflammatory language to influence an uneducated public.
1
I have gone back and forth on Sanders, viewing him"tantot"as an idealist,engaged in a career long search for truth and justice, and "tantot" as just another member of the political class, saying one thing, preaching sacrifice to others yet wanting to keep his privileged life style with all the perks. Article by Thrush last week about Biden and Sanders really being the best of friends, disagreeing in public but agreeing in private, and Sander's being invited for a breakfast of yogurt parfaits with coffee at Biden's residence @ Naval Observatory when he was v.p. was an epiphany for me, made me realize that Sanders is a pretend share the wealther, socialist, yet wants to keep his status as a 1 percenter with 3 homes, to live like the most privileged capitalist!There is the political class, and then there r the rest of us.Was O Reilly not right when he said that Sanders had not done a lick of real work since he arrived in Vermont and started running for political office decades ago. Cannot think of one single thing Sanders has done, like even donating royalties from latest book published to a charitable foundation, volunteering,at an animal shelter that can be interpreted as altrusim.He talks about socialism,but in his "fors interieur"Sanders is just as closely tied to the benefits of capitalism as any other politician.Why has he been taken so seriously for so long?Those yogurt parfaits which Sanders enjoyed at home of Biden when latter was v.p. said it all.
Problem is this: there is no political party called the Democratic Socialist Party. If that party is born somehow it would be from the Democratic Party, sadly splitting the Democratic Party and ensuring Republican victories.
Low voter turnout for Sanders has been accounted for by your columnist Jamelle Bouie: - it’s because working and lower-economic class 21-30 year-olds have the largest impediments to voting, whether out-of-state college students to working young people who cannot take the time nor have child care: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/opinion/bernie-sanders-young-voters.html
And as for Sanders not connecting with African-American voters, Pew Research center just issued a study revealing how the segment of registered Dem voters who identify as “conservative” and “moderate” Dems has increased over the last 20 years, most strikingly for African-American voters.
To my previous point, it is ironic Black Americans are embracing “moderation” in their presidential candidate. It is, however, understandable - they and their allies have risked life and limb to achieve equality and they still don’t have it, and the Roberts Court has been chipping away steadily at the gains and mechanisms in place for African-Americans (Voting Rights, Affirmative Action). I presume the issue is fear - fear of losing what little true equality they possess.
Demonize Sanders all you like. His legacy will be his message and actions. I hope in my lifetime someone will take up his mantle.
1
It is in no way radical. That is the proble:.
1
There was nothing “insurgent” about Bernie’s campaign. The Establishment Democrats and the MSM did their best to push a “moderate”, read go-along Republican lite, candidate so no major changes will be made.
I remember the wars under Obama/Biden and I remember Biden’s Iraq war vote. And I remember Obama/Biden putting SS on the table for cuts. Never will I vote for Biden (nor Trump for that matter).
3
@e.s. I am sad to see that you won’t be voting in November as Biden will be the nominee.
@e.s. I'd rather have an angry realist like Bernie that a Chersire-cat grinning Neo Liberal-like Biden.
1
So many commentators point out that they think Biden can get things done. I would point out his sterling record: The
Bankruptcy Bill of 2005. In the time frame before that bill went through,on the behest of the credit card companies,more women inorder to avert complete poverty filed bankruptcy
than graduated from college. Joe was known as the Senator
from the credit card companies. The Crime Bill:he and BillClinton helped to create the largest Gulag the world has ever known. The Clinton trade bills which gutted our industrial base, is part of his symphony of disasters.
These agreements have left large swaths of our nation
like 2nd world countries, by anybodys criteria.
Oh and there's that little gem, the Iraq War. He helped
Bush bring along Democrats for that sweet piece,.
I have been a life long Democrat From Daley's Chicago.
Since Bill and Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden I have watched
the party put a knife in the back of every constituency that
built it. That's how we got Trump. Check out what Bill
Clinton said when he heard the Unions didn't like how NAFTA
was written,"Where are they gonna go?" And I'm supposed
to happily vote for the man who very effectively got
the job done of killing off the working and middle class?
5
Medicare for all is not a "Radical Vision". Canada, UK and others have it. By putting "Radical' in the headline you demonize universal health care and give a right wing bent to this article. "Radical" is 44 million usa citizens without health care insurance. Radical is USA paying 2 times what canada pays for healthcare for worse health outcomes.
5
Government by the people using regulations to minimize greed and maximize the benefits of society to all is what the folks who call Bernie radical want you to imagine we have. That is a radical lie.
Bernie knows we don't have it and says we should. That is truth.
The radical politics is on the right where they have stripped our government of these things and imposed government by the wealthy on us. The people called moderate here are fake democrats who are willing not to oppose or try to turn back this theft of our authority.
The basis of the "government bad" movement is in its essence slavery. That became wage theft after the Civil War. Greed is the root of it and the lies told to help slavers dissociate the evil they were perpetrating have morphed into the lies and propaganda republicans tell about the unfairness and theft they engage in to increase their profits at our expense.
This whole mess with Covid-19 is due to greed for profit being used to justify repealing the rules and regs about prudent preparations for inevitable need.
Bernie is not radical, he's just too honest for the crooks, and cowards who don't want to face what they have allowed to happen. Government by the people actually working for all of the people is not radical, it is what the center is.
2
Bernie should have backed Elizabeth Warren and conducted his revolution from inside the party machinery. But he wanted to get at it from the outside.
The New York Times itself has always misjudged Sanders. The fact that you still call his policies "radical" is testament to how out of touch you are, to your conservative entrenchment. Catch up with the rest of the world. You you ignored him, blacked out his campaign in 2016 when he could have beaten Trump and Clinton had no chance; you have smeared him, insulted his supporters. Your coverage of him has been shallow and mean, petty and destructive. You have misjudged America and you have harmed democracy in so doing. And most of all, you have ignored the young people. History will show that you remain part of the establishment that is helping kill our planet, maintaining endless wars, making education unaffordable, supporting a devastating, broken healthcare system, upholding the one per cent, and disappearing the working classes. Corona virus has undressed your establishment in the blink of an eye, exposing the fallacy of "but how would you pay for that?" Empire is laid bare now for all to see: the money has always been there to care for people, to build a society based on care and not capital. Whether Sanders wins or loses, the movement will continue to fight for what's right. We won't wait for you because there is no time left. The kids have moved on.
3
The neoliberals like Biden have created the system where citizens are nothing but walking sources of money to extract at every phase of our lives for the American oligarchs. Does Canada have Canadian oligarchs, like they have in the corrupt, dictatorship Russia and the USA? No. You wouldn’t. Billionaires shouldn’t exist, as you all know. I received superior healthcare in Japan and France. Sanders is leading us back to civilization, which Biden simply won’t do.
2
Bernie Sanders has all the right ideas that are needed to save this country from the path of descent to mediocrity and beyond. Every single idea of his from healthcare to education is to salvage our nation form such a fate.
The fact that the black population votes for Biden (or Clinton in 2016) tells me one thing: the problem is with the mass psychology that still absorbs that population: slavery and the quasi-slavery up to Martin Luther King Jr. That is centuries of oppression of the soul. It made them irrationality risk averse. So they vote for the safe choice which of course is not safe at all.
The same general argument is true for the people from the bottom 99 percent who vote for Biden types despite that their interest is really represented by Sanders. They are victims of the American rhetoric and the prevalence of the ideology of capitalism in their daily ration of news. Since the population is unbelievably uncritical and undereducated despite their college degrees let alone high school diplomas (they have not been thought how to THINK), they fall for all the hoopla and vote for Biden, Clinton, Obama and in the worse case for Fascists like Trump.
What is to be done? Take a chance and vote for Bernie. Perhaps miracles occur and people wake up even temporarily. I am just praying for his good health and that miracle at this point.
3
What radical vision? Healthcare for all instead of profits for the War Machine. Who are the radicals, really?
2
How about: How did Sanders even get this far?
1
Bernie Sanders has all the right ideas that are needed to save this country from the path of descent to mediocrity and beyond. Every single idea of his from healthcare to education is to salvage our nation form such a fate.
The fact that the black population votes for Biden (or Clinton in 2016) tells me one thing: the problem is with the mass psychology that still absorbs that population: slavery and the quasi-slavery up to Martin Luther King Jr. That is centuries of oppression of the soul. It made them irrationality risk averse. So they vote for the safe choice which of course is not safe at all.
The same general argument is true for the people from the bottom 99 percent who vote for Biden types despite that their interest is really represented by Sanders. They are victims of the American rhetoric and the prevalence of the ideology of capitalism in their daily ration of news. Since the population is unbelievably uncritical and undereducated despite their college degrees let alone high school diplomas (they have not been thought how to THINK), they fall for all the hoopla and vote for Biden, Clinton, Obama and in the worse case for Fascists like Trump.
What is to be done? Take a chance and vote for Bernie. Perhaps miracles occur and people wake up even temporarily. I am just praying for his good health and that miracle at this point.
Second try: You ask for comments, print them on a timely fashion.
1
Americans have been hypnotized into hating the only politician who wants to really change things for the better. All you so-called moderates who want incremental change are being co-opted by the right, fooled yet again into settling for less than we deserve. When the worm turns, people get nasty. Suddenly Bernie is the big bad guy. Good luck to us with the same old same old. The Democrats are forfeiting the youth vote forever.
2
Many like me don't hate Bernie and even agree with many of his positions, in theory anyway. The issue is that we're pragmatic enough to understand that idealism doesn't exist in a vacuum. Bernie supporters are focused on what they think Bernie will do if elected and the outcome if he doesn't. I look at the different forces at work and think "what's the reality of what Bernie could achieve in the current zeitgeist, and what's at stake if he runs against Trump and loses".Now is not the time to gamble for the little he could achieve. The Supreme Court hangs in the balance, and if Trump is reelected it will become an arm of right-wing politically motivated justices for decades. Just as concerning, even more unqualified, right-wing judges will be on federal benches, influencing laws that never reach the SCOTUS. You can kiss decades of progress and sensible rulings goodbye for the foreseeable future. Who runs also has an effect on down ballot elections. Independents and moderates are less likely to vote for candidates in a party if they don't trust the presidential candidate of that party. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Support whoever gets nomination, as I will, but it seems almost certain that Biden is more electable. If Biden is elected we can continue to hold his feet to the fire and push toward issues we care about.
@Tom: On a deep level, I applaud Bernie's convictions and, taking the long view, hope that many of his proposals become reality. But I'm alarmed by the nonstop, unproductive partisanship in recent years; realistic about the tremendous financial and media power amassed by Fox News and its like; and appalled by the evidence of poor civic, cross-generational education evident throughout the land, much of it underscored by racism. We need to take a deep breath. We need to defeat Trump. We need a return to normalcy. Therefore: Biden. Sanders has accomplished a great deal by his candidacy. But now is not his time.
Bernie Sanders is nothing more than an angry person. He should retire from public life.
1
I’ve stood next to Bernie several times. In New Hampshire during a primary, you can’t walk down the street without tripping over a politician. Sanders gives off a feeling of love and respect for everyone, regardless of social position or proximity to nodes of wealth and power. Sanders is a truly great man. My friends in Europe and Asia know this. (I have canvassed with people from Sweden, Iran and Germany who came here to go door to door to elect Sanders.) Why don’t you? We should be so lucky to have such a gentleman of such integrity as our leader.
1
Why couldn't a President Biden name Bernie to HHS?
That way everybody wins!
I do not see Bernie leading the entire country but perhaps this would be the answer
4
"We’re taking on everybody! That’s something that has not been done in American history!”
That's true. Maybe he should be asking why.
1
Bernie has been a Menshevik his entire adult life, consistently. He hasn't made a left turn, our society has and we are catching up to him.
Baby boomers can turn around and wave good bye to your 401K.
Sure hope my vested social security remains intact!
1
Ironically, Americans will be happy to lean on government assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic without batting an eye and without thinking about the fact that this is actually socialism at work—that scary four-letter word to most folks.
3
Headline is so deceptive. Radical? When I went to college in NYC it was free! So not radical! Rest of the industrialized world provides single payer or something close to that. Not radical! At least the non audience format showed the benefit of not having an audience for the politicians to play to for applause.
1
Sanders' campaign is warmed over dogma from 2016. His base did NOT expand. His supporters have become more nasty. The Dems have shifted left, to address the alienation factor that won Trump his eleciton. Enough already. Go Biden.
2
Very well written, I really enjoyed this peace!
Bernie Sanders has diagnosed the diseases, but doesn't have the medicines. Biden can set bones and put on a temporary cast and make you more comfortable.
2
I urge all to watch Nathan Robinson's You Tube video, "Democrats you do NOT want to nominate Biden". Robinson is editor of Current Affairs magazine and has a law degree from Yale, and a Ph.d from Harvard.
I agree with the opinion stated by Jay that "healthcare" in America is "legal organised crime". Prices are so bloated that the knock the wind out of anyone who has lived in Europe and had excellent healthcare for a tenth the price. I am proud of Bernie Sanders for having had the courage to try to change it, And sorry for all those who want to stick with being ripped off wholesale by the organised crime network, which often ends up with people's houses and life savings. It is a tragic situation. I am ashamed of the NYT for being an accomplice, which clearly shows in this article in the myriad, not so subtle snipes at the courageous good-hearted man Sanders is. I am sorry that Sanders refused to take off his gloves with Biden in the debate as Biden sat and laughed and smirked--and yes, just like Donald Trump--when cornered, outright lied. Sanders lied once though, when he said that Biden is an "honest man'. The direct video tapes in Robinson's You Tube video will remove any illusion that Biden is an "honest man'. The Democratic Party deserves Biden as a candidate. Robinson's video makes clear how easy he will be for Trump to defeat.
2
The only thing he misjudged was how far the DNC will go to squash him. They actually got their own cognitively declined candidate to run for president just to appeal to the over 65 set.
2
I do not think Sanders misjudged America. I think he had a one trick pony and he couldn't get off of it. Its a shame. He is a fine man. A broader approach to America' problems might have put him in the WH.
The NYT calls public funding of public universities RADICAL. The NYT calls a national healthcare system RADICAL. But Trump's decimation of institutions, putting refugees in cages and appointing unqualified judges is not.
3
I am incrdibly shocked that the American people are supporting lying Biden over honest Bernie. This will definitely cost them in 2020. I have watched the debate. As a young, there isn't anything about Biden that excites me. Honestly H-Clinton was much better.
1
Biden has been pushed to his front runner status by the warmongering, Wall Street supporting, status quo protecting Republican and Democratic Establishment,
not by his merits.
Sanders keep on!
America needs Real Change Now!
The American Dream died decades ago, and the Establishment, and that includes Biden, never noticed.
America has obscene, colossal and growing inequality of opportunity, income and wealth, where the richest .1 percent take in 196 times as much as the bottom ninety percent.
https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/
This pandemic is going to showcase the insanity of our healthcare systems, and make medicare for all look like the sane alternative.
In 2017, the United States spent about $3.5 trillion, or 18 percent of GDP, on health expenditures – more than twice the average among developed countries.
That 18 percent of GDP can be rejiggered to pay for medicare for all, with money left over, and no new monies needed.
This pandemic will be demonstrating the corrupt priorities of the US economic system reliant on Wall Street as its arbiter.
America would be a better country for having President Sanders lead the way to a more equal society with healthier, better educated, more thriving citizens prepared to participate in a more principled economy.
1
How do you write an article about someone trying to run for teh Democratic nomination as President who spent their entire career refusing to join the Party. Now he wants to be President, and suddenly he's a Democrat?
Nope
2
The media and the DNC have already set it up, it's between the Republican fascists or the corporate Democrats. We dont want Bernie, he is a socialist and a mean guy that nobody likes. Meanwhile, we are clearing all the world's natural areas for hamburgers, collecting and eating up viral, stressed wildlife, and developing more oil and gas production.
Anyone Notice Biden is shifting left? saying most of his career was a mistake, rethought, or times have changed?
he's a phoney
1
Bernie Sanders is a disaster. It would take Elizabeth Warren to implement any of his ideas.
1
It isn't clear to me who the DNC / Establishment hates more: Sanders or Trump. The only time that I've ever seen Fox News and the NY Times agreeing on anything was about the evils of the socialism / communism that Sanders was going to bring.
1
On behalf of Sanders supporters, thanks for the pat on the head and the chuck under the chin. I will agree with one thing, Biden’s “string of victories” was indeed, uh, “incredible.” As in, impossible to believe.
1
He's still running - headlines like this are the reason why Bernie is not in the lead. Shame.
1
“And though Sanders made more than 30 campaign stops for Clinton during the final weeks of the campaign, an internal analysis of Cooperative Congressional Election Study data conducted by the Sanders pollster Ben Tulchin found that a distinct cohort of Sanders’s electorate had migrated into Trump’s column.”
This whole article was written in order to deliver this Molotov cocktail. “Distinct cohort?” How about using actual numbers? Got a link?
Yeesh! There’s just no let up!
1
Did America Misjudge Bernie Sanders? Or Did He Misjudge America?
Who is America?
3
'Did America Misjudge Bernie Sanders? Or Did He Misjudge America?'
No, Bernie won anyways, his platforms will be adapted
The neoliberals like Biden have created the system where citizens are nothing but walking sources of money to extract at every phase of our lives for the American oligarchs. Does Canada have Canadian oligarchs, like they have in the corrupt, dictatorship Russia and the USA? No. You wouldn’t. Billionaires shouldn’t exist, as you all know.
Go ahead and use "INSURGENT" and "RADICAL" in your article. I'm so tired of the bias against Sanders. It's almost like he's threatening your pocketbook...
2
Too bad the NYTimes is just figuring this out. We can thank Bret Stephens for scaring many potential voters away from Bernie Sanders.
1
The NYTimes should be ashamed of how they have spun the whole Bernie Sanders phenomenon. The NYTimes is unable to see that Bernie's is not a "radical" vision. It's an informed vision. What's "radical" is how Americans have let corporate capitalism rule our lives and define our future.
4
America, as you call it, acted on information fed to them by the NYT and WP.... which is where the misjudgement originated. America requires radical vision to correct decades of misdirection. Indeed, probably centuries of misdirection, as pretty much everything we think we know as truth is quite misdirected. Again, how does America get its knowledge? The computer acronym GIGO is appropriate here. (Garbage In, Garbage Out).
1
Bernie speaks truth to power! Lots of states haven't voted their primaries yet. Stop acting like this is a done deal. That just shows how sick our democratic process has become. Let everyone vote. Isn't that the idea of democracy? What a sick version of democracy America has concocted. Go Bernie. You're our "ambassador of coin" for the American people. Someone has to stand up for us. Thank you!
3
Biden will lose and the Dems will learn nothing.
3
Couldn't be more wrong. Biden will win in a landslide in spite of rampant voter suppression and foreign interference.
2
We haven’t misjudged him at all. We the voters looked at his done-nothing record, the culture of abuse and violence that he has fostered in his campaign, his blatant hypocrisy such as his refusal to finalise his FEC filings from last time— yeah, that stalwart champion of campaign finance accountability, for everyone else but himself — and we have said no thanks.
Why trade one egotistical mendacious misogynist for another?
5
@Lisa I fail to see the appeal of a hippie communist who has named 2 post offices. To use Bernie’s own words, “really?!”
"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public," H.L. Mencken. That was Bernie's mistake--he failed to understand just how ignorant the majority of Americans are.
2
Let me put this in standardized-test format:
1. If the US had long ago adopted Sanders' positions and programs -- none of which, he'd be the first to say, are original to him -- would be in a better or worse position now in re: coronavirus?
(A) Better.
(B) Worse.
(C) About the same.
(D) A giraffe on fire.
Feedback: Choice A is correct, if an understatement. If you answered choice B, you probably are an economist. Choice C is attractive to those who freeze when asked anything. Those who answered choice D are superior to all except those who chose the correct option, Choice A.
2. If adopting what is essentially the fulfillment of the Democratic Party's New Deal, the Four Freedoms, and the Great Society would help with this pandemic, wouldn't it always help?
(A) No, it would be Stalinism.
(B) I do not answer questions posed by giant slugs wearing monocles.
(C) Obviously.
(D) It would be about the same.
Feedback: Choice C is correct. If you answered Choice A, you're either a Republican or a corporate Democrat, or someone duped against your own obvious interests by either. Even in the middle of a global pandemic. Choice D is the haven of the craven. Choice B gets points just for at least independent thought, if surreal and/or insane. Still saner than the other two wrong-answer choices.
Bonus Constructed-Response Item:
3. Will Americans, especially Democrats, ever get this in enough numbers to change actual policy?
Fill in your answer in the space provided below.
1
He's the president America needs, but not the president America deserves.
3
Many of Bernie's supporters can't/won't accept the fact that many voters just don't like him.
The effort to pretend that Bernie's opponents are too dumb to understand the true meaning of Democratic Socialism failed.
The effort to pretend that Bernie did everything he could in 2016 to rein in the bros and support Hillary failed.
The pathetic comparison of Bernie to FDR failed.
The attempts at minimizing Bernie's similarities to Trump failed.
Time now to campaign for for Biden and Democratic candidates in general. Can you do it, Bernie?
Let Jane have a turn at the microphone. Maybe she can dispel the anti-women vibes.
Reach out to actual Democrats and disappointed Republicans. Set up some events with interesting speakers: people like Michael Steele and Steve Schmidt. People don't like being yelled at, scolded. We like information and thoughtful analysis, not the same old finger wagging.
4
Imagine if the DNC and the media, instead of continuously characterizing Sanders in every negative way they can come up with, whether it’s accurate or not, and they had discussed how essential, not only important his policies are to save lives, save the planet and increase democracy, away from the current fact that we are living in an increasing oligarchy. What would the election look like if instead of the hysteria and actually stating, how can we stop Sanders?!?!?! they all were even minimally being fair and accurate about how access to healthcare, which almost no American but the very rich reliably have, is a basic cornerstone of civilization? That’s what we see. Why don’t you? Because of the media and the narrative controlled by those who want to continue to amass obscene amounts of dynastic wealth. If I were you, I’d feel like I’ve been duped. I’d be angry. I am. I’ve lived in Japan, France and Germany and I know the truth. Don’t you want the truth?
1
Bernie has promised his followers free healthcare way beyond what any other country provides with a public system, free public college, free student debt forgiveness, free childcare, free preschool, a guaranteed job for everyone at a minimum $15/hour + full benefits, a minimum salary of $65,000 for every teacher in the country, increased social security for everyone, paid family leave for everyone, and more. He admitted he doesn't even know how much all that will cost, and his figures don't add up, but it sounds pretty good, especially after 3+ years of Trump. He has convinced more than a million of donors to send him money monthly for his "movement." Many show him almost unbounded loyalty. The trouble is 2/3 of the Democratic voters aren't supporting him. The primaries are showing that. Bernie blames it on a conspiracy, the "establishment," the news media, and the 1%. He believes more in his "movement" that getting rid of Trump. Many of his followers believe in that, too. This contributed to Trump's election in 2016. From the comments, many Bernie followers didn't learn much from 3 years of Trump. Imagine what 4 more years of him would do.
5
@jas2200 - the things you list that Bernie is proposing are exactly what Germany provides to its citizens, except that the teacher pay isn't set so high - but they do get subsidized housing, great healthcare, and solid retirement options. Germany is the largest and most successful economy of Europe and quality of life is pretty good. Bernie should value policy over removing Trump - getting Pence in office, or even Biden, won't fix the healthcare system or the inequalities in our education system (and therefore social mobility). It also won't change our overseas military "actions" or try to solve the issues of social security and Medicaid running out of money. We can only fix the system by remaking it better than it is now.
1
it's why black voters turn away from Sanders. His plans are pie in the sky and not workable.
1
@Jim: Actually the US has subsidized housing, too. It's expanding because of shortages in affordable housing, but Germany's is too. See:
https://www.housingforall.eu/germans-housing-crisis/
Germany's healthcare system has more in common with the ACA than Bernie's single-payer system. Health insurance is mandatory for all citizens and permanent residents of Germany. It is provided by two systems, namely: 1) competing, not-for-profit, nongovernmental health insurance funds (“sickness funds”—there were 118 as of January 20161) in the statutory health insurance (SHI) system; and 2) substitutive private health insurance (PHI). In 2014, the public system paid for 74% of all healthcare expenses in the country, mostly from SHI, which is is financed by compulsory contributions levied as a percentage of gross wages up to a ceiling. There are deductibles and co-payments of varying amounts, and there are safety nets for low income people. For a summary of the German system see: https://international.commonwealthfund.org/countries/germany/
Bernie's plan has no deductibles, premiums or co-payments and pays for virtually all healthcare costs 100% with public funds, and private insurance would become illegal (except apparently for cosmetic surgery).
Take a look at Biden's policy proposals on joebiden.com, which discuss the issues you mention. He has some pretty good ideas that have a chance at passing.
1
My favorite part of the debate was when Sanders, wanting to refer to the Coronavirus, said “the Ebola virus”—twice—and then Biden, in response, finished by saying (again, meaning corona) “...the SARS virus”
1
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/us/politics/joe-biden-vp-running-mate.html
How absurd things have gotten…
Joe should have been more specific – and told us whether he’d pick a white woman or a black woman…
You all would’ve covered that without missing a beat…
PS
My money’s on Susan Rice…
2
Most of this country has been suffering from a massive case of Stockholm Syndrome, where the lower and middle classes identify more with their captors, the 1%, than they do with each other; witness the decline in unions over the years and the willingness to accept two-tier wage schedules. It's been a slow and deliberate process of dehumanization by corporate America to the point that workers have become so cowed, so timid, that they are essentially serfs. No matter what they desire in their hearts, they will never get it because their representatives in Washington are all bought-and-paid-for toadies, betraying their trust on a daily bass.. It's quite clear that Bernie has been on their side but voters have become conditioned to not rocking the boat, huddled in their Netflix cocoons, and then wondering why things never change. Obama and his beguiling rhetoric didn't help matters because he proved to be as big a fraud as the rest of them; now he's out and about cavorting with billionaires. I wonder how miserable people will have to get before they finally snap out of their trance?
4
@stan continople
How can I say how much I loved your analysis. I just keep walking around mumbling to myself wondering how could these low income people be in the same party as the 1%
We need a psychiatrist that specializes in cultures to explain this phenomenon that we are now living.
I'm sure the Stockholm syndrome is part of the answer. But Trump spreads out his abuse to a wider population. He cheats in business, abuses women and all the other items that are too numerous to list.
Maybe there is another category for him-- something like Stockholm syndrome to the X power or maybe we're the most unlucky country in the world. We had it all and it slipped away.
1
Democratic's kept saying now is not the time for structural change. That such only happens during/after major calamity and depressions/recessions.
Huh...guess what the globe is in the midst of...a once in a century pandemic, the beginning of a foreseen recession/depression and a climate crisis never before seen.
Now Democratic's wish to kick the can down the road for another 4+yrs. and be reactive, rather than proactive. Guess which causes more disruption, more misery, more costly and damage...
“You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing after they have tried everything else.”
Biden is just another "tried everything else".
It won't be the rich and connected that suffer.
It will be We the People; your children.
Bernie Sanders was/is your chance at being proactive.
NOW's the TIME~!
...and 'merica is blowing it. Again.
4
What does Biden believe this week (I've been away from the news for the past 5 days)?
3
I for one, will never forget how the NYTimes failed to critically evaluate the GWBush administration's lying rationale for invading Iraq but instead got on board the misdirected train and failed in its duty to inform and became complicit in that disaster. Knight Ridder did not fail, other media organs did not fail. The NYTImes failed at that critical time and they're failing us now by not giving Sander's arguments a fair hearing in the public realm, instead always spinning him as "radical" or outside the "mainstream."
4
Black people don't want his half baked ridiculous ideas that could not get passed if he was President.
Apparently it just occurred to some voters and Bernie- that there is no winning the Democrat nomination without the black demographic. Same for Buttigeig and the rest of those also-rans.
Also it's made clear thus far ....you can win the Democrat nomination without Latinx voters- Biden is clearly doing that.
2
Radical? In respect to what, for God's sake?
5
The New York Times, as with most mainstream media in this election as in 2016, shut Bernie down with its slanted and negative headlines or just crickets...no press at all for all of his thousands of followers at his rallies. The mainstream is rich white men who have run this country since they killed the Native Americans and stole their land...they will do whatever necessary to maintain power with the support of their sycophants who only know how to genuflect. Bernie is a real human being with real concern for other human beings. His policies are not radical...they are humane and practical...what is radical are the selfish fiscal policies set in place many generations ago by these same white men to make people think this is the way it should be. Millineals, think ahead and choose your own future or suffer the same upside-down culture in which you were indoctrinated.
4
Nobody misjudged anybody.
4
Sanders as a 2020 presidential candidate is done. This was clear from Super Tuesday, but now it's so obvious it's impossible to deny. Only question is if Sanders bows out gracefully, works 110% to bring Sandernistas on board, or do they go guerrilla war https://realcontextnews.com/the-death-throes-of-the-failed-sandernista-revolution/
1
Buddha came and went and left a mark we see everywhere.
Moses was a great Egyptian leader of Jews who struggled if you can believe it for 40 years in a desert and then got bounced off the invitee list to get to the land of honey, etc.because he wanted a drink of water and could not wait.
Jesus just hung around for a few hours and left his mark too.
Bernie, poor Bernie, our voyage the undemocratic Democrats say is done. Fold the tent and come under ours, even if it leaks.
Biden!!
Let's change the subject. He got things done. Curtailed women's rights, compromised to get a criminal justice bill through that was anything but justice for millions of blacks, and liked defining marriage as as boy meet girl.
Women and blacks and others had to fight to gain justice, equality, and they still ain't here.
So, what to do? Again, the Democratic Party is going to put forward another I can get it done candidate. But get what done?
That is the question. The only question!
I was living in Vermont when Mr. Sanders last ran for re-election to the Senate. I voted for him then (a winner) and will do so again if he emerges from the campaign as the nominee. If he does not become the nominee, then I will vote for Mr. Biden. In my world, as a retired U.S. Air Force officer, my primary hope is for Mr. Trump to be retired by the voters.
6
There is no misjudgment on either side. Bernie knows large changes are needed to rectify atrophy of the middle class and a growing level of impoverishment. The majority of Americans know this too, and that is why almost half voted in Trump looking for change.
However, getting the vote out is another matter: Biden has the support of the only-a-little-change-is-needed faction, and they are pulling the Dems strings. And Fox, Hannity, Twitter, Facebook are rallying the MAGA myopics.
3
Did I miss something? Are the primaries over? Has Bernie dropped out? If not, why is the Times publishing this political obit?
5
Did the NYT misjudge America when they slavishly anointed Hillary Clinton as national Queen in 2016, before America voted?
There's nothing radical about Sanders platform unless the NYT considers good healthcare not to be a human right, grotesque income inequality to be a viable plantation-style employment model, where tens of millions of Americans don't make a living wage and have to work paycheck to paycheck, where fair taxation of the wealthy is pooh poohed by those in power as a job killer and unfair, and where carbon use regulation is laughed at because big oil, gas and coal, like the gun lobby has bought Washington.
Sanders wants to do the right thing for the American working and lower middle class struggling to pay the bills, yes that is radical if you are in contempt of these two groups like mainstream Republicans and Democrats are, who make up 5% of the population worth a million dollars or more, and who control a propagandist media who've rigged the system for this 5%.
Sanders natural constituency should be the majority of working Americans who support either Trump or Biden, who only vote for these two charlatans (Burisma, Ukraine, Corona virus anyone?) because they've been brainwashed since the cold war by the American media. The media has been so effective in their divide and conquer strategy that they get the working class in both parties to vote against their interests in favor of their wealthy plantation masters.
TP shortage = diarrhea of the mind.
7
Headlines and articles like this one make me wonder whether the Times loves jerking the chain of progressive readers like me, whether it has a Dunning Kruger blindness to its bias, or whether I am myself failing to recognize its self-touted objectivity.
Is it just me, or when Bernie is ahead, does the coverage tend to be about the vulnerability of his lead, about whether communist/socialist labels will damage him, whether his core of bro's can expand beyond college campuses?
When Bernie is behind, it's a post-mortem, like this one, a "debate" about whether the reason Bernie can't win is because he's out of touch with himself or America, or just too unrealistic to convince voters who will actually vote.
If Bernie talked buckshot like Biden, who thinks we woud not be readsing articles about how "aides within the campaign" have privately expressed concern about his capacities?
I submitted a comment a couple of weeks ago that included a hypothetical debate statement by Trump about Biden's mental capacities. Who doubts the relevance of that scenario? There were no slurs in the comment, just middle-of-the-road Trumpisms and rhetorical style.
The Times declined to publish it.
I am saddened by this all, but relieved, at least, to know that although establishment media may be able to tip the scales enough to block a candidate like Bernie, they will not be able to stop Greta and her cohorts. Maybe not even AOC.
The times are changing, even if the Times is not.
5
Joe Biden is DNC's (and NYTimes') sacrificial lamb on the altar of DJT's re-election as DINOs again snatch defeat from the most obvious opportunity for victory in past fifty years.
BERNIE 2020.
3
A not so radical vision. Lefty Bernie was Right!
2
Centrists trading policy effort for a "win" have already thrown in the towel. Centrist trading real ideas for gender optics is the worse kind of tokenization. The NY times commentators last night are beholden to Biden to say the least. They won't acknowledge that the economic policies of Obama and Trump have created this economic crisis today. The virus pricked the debt bubble fueled by low rates debt deferral. Unbelievable...Trump will be president for 4 more years.
The worst scenario for a Bernie supporter may prompt you to think “life sucks”. Fortunately, recognizing other people lead productive lives while your life may seem underwhelming, is a step in the right direction. According to Professor Dave Logan, author of “Tribal Leadership”, 48% of the groups we belong to, at first, seem to be functional, with most individuals having a high regard for their place in the organization. However, many of them complain that they’re doing all the work. They form “dyads” – one-on-one relationships between two people – & have little communication beyond that. We find this behavior in most places where smart, successful people show up. Failure to confront our imperfections forces us to continually look for scapegoats to make up for when the story we’re telling ourselves doesn't add up. Enabling readers to experience an epiphany about communication that unites us around a core set of values should be the goal. These values encourage dyads to become “triads” – groups of 3 people together with shared projects & common values. “Triads are the building blocks of Information that flows freely through networks & innovation enabling individuals to surrender. Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life. There is room to go higher still. We should be able to be innovative to create new opportunities, allowing us to embark on history making projects. This is how we end up changing the world for the better.
Both. The country moved on from 2016 and Bernie never grasped the change in mood of the country.
Last night when he was asked about what he would do as president in dealing with coronavirus, Sanders kept going back to Medicare for all, a program that would years to establish instead of listing things he would do now in a crisis.
Bernie Sanders, like other visionary leaders of social and political change at the start of the 20th century, has made a contribution to political discourse and he will be remembered.
But he didn’t have a real strategy for getting to the presidency this time. Events surpassed him and he was unable to adapt.
10
In the liberal democratic tradition, majority rules. Candidates with a small minority backing do not set the agenda, even though they think that they should. There are some socialist countries like Cuba, and many democratic countries like the USA and Denmark. But we are not aware of any socialist countries that are democratic. So when Bernie espouses democratic socialism, that
is his ideal with no practical example. We are living in a liberal democratic country and Bernie needs to bend to the majority in the Democratic Party.
5
@David
70% of the people want and agree with Bernie on policy. Just like 90% want some reasonable form of gun control to keep guns out of crazy people's hands. Yet we only get the policies that the <1% espouse. That's not democracy, that's plutocracy.
1
@Tim Kane Thank you so much for reminding us all that Bernie voted AGAINST the Brady bill for gun safety at least 5 times and in favor of exempting gun manufacturers from legal liability at least once, Last Tuesday Bernie lost every single County in Mississippi, Missouri, and Michigan. He needs to bend to the democratic will of the people.
1
The whole world is on edge so in America more so for it`s delayed response .
Mr. Bernie Sanders tried once in 2016 and now again in 2020 . Particularly this time Country is not ready for a revolution.
We have a President who is failing the citizen in every waking moments.
Mathematically Mr. Sanders can not win enough delegates to be the nominee.
Time to concede and support VP Joe Biden.
10
" So why wouldn’t Sanders make these points? Why wouldn’t the aide say them on the record? “We didn’t come into politics yesterday,” he replied dryly. “So, no, especially in a primary campaign, you’re not going to see us compromise with ourselves on the trademark issues.” "
Maybe it's just me, but I think many voters were looking for this exact acknowledgement of willingness to compromise on issues in order to actually get the best progress we can, when we can. Advising that Bernie never do this, appears to me to be a fatal mistake.
7
Isn't insanity doing the same thing the same way over and over and expecting different results?
Why do people laud Sanders for being consistent?
He has a great platform, that he has never learned how to frame or sell. What a tragedy. Maybe someday, Sanders supporters will figure out that Elizabeth Warren has figured out how to frame and sell the same platform. Too bad voters don't understand this.
We're the victims of not investing in our children's education. We've reaped an electorate of epslion-minuses.
18
Apparently, Elizabeth Warren has not figured out how to better “sell” her ideas, given her far less substantial success in this primary campaign. Maybe “selling” these ideas which are generally antithetical to deploying falsehood in the service of high-minded values doesn’t quite belong, or help. I do think Sanders could be slightly more malleable toward the point of greater clarity and specificity about his plans, and also could be more transparent regarding the relationship of his rhetoric, with its calls for ideal proposals, to the likely realities of daily leadership. Massaging and padding his messages with omissions and cutesy devices, Sanders, and, I believe, people younger than forty-five as well as thoughtful elders, recognize as contrary-to-their-purpose ploys that disrespect the intelligence of citizens, much as your message rather unkindly disses the considerably more informed in many ways (especially about framing & branding) “younger generation.” It’s harder to try to do it right, and he’s done quite well, really, making unlikely but authentic decisions.
3
@Robert Henry Eller
Because people trust him. He doesn't convienently support policies when they're easy, he supports them when they're difficult and the right thing to do. Why should I trust Biden is going to do anything he says when he lies about his record to the publics face just like donald trump
2
@Robert Henry Eller
Just one naive question: If Warren really is fighting for a progressive platform then why did she not endorse Bernie?
1
There were two populist movements that arose in 2016. One was Trump's America first - anti-immigrant, pro nationalist and Bernie's movement. Bernie's sprang from Occupy Wall Street. Steve Bannon and the Tea Party borrowed their language to stoke rage and division and anti-government sentiment on the right. On the left, the answer was always socialism - which is a losing proposition. Had a populist movement that wasn't socialism started on the left it might have had a chance. Both of these extremes seem to be driven by our extreme partisanship and hatred.
Our country is broken. Trump wasn't the answer and neither is Bernie. Right now, we are trying to build and fortify the middle. Bernie got a lot of help from Russian in 2016, which greatly inflated his popularity. The media became transfixed by this false notion that millennials weren't afraid of socialism and thus Bernie would rise.
No. At its heart, America is a capitalist system. From every tweet to ever Grubhub order to ever purchased iPhone - we are top to bottom driven by money spent and made. That was the fundamental flaw with Bernie's movement. Trump's could be populist but also promise jobs, wealth. Bernie is simply saying: the government will pay for everything. He was never going to succeed in this country.
11
@Sasha Stone
These two movements were both a wholehearted rejection of the establishment's status quo, one leaning conservative and one more liberal. Trump's support has grown since then and his supporters from before are still with him. The same can be said for Bernie's support. The general election should be between THESE two and would be a close race involving the vast majority of Americans outside of BOTH parties. This may not happen if the Democratic party forces its establishment candidate on us, once again. Then we'll just have another four years of Donald Trump.
8
@carl bumba Trump's support in the GOP has grown, his support with independents has not. Big difference.
1
@Sasha Stone I always thought the left-wing "populist movement that wasn't socialism" was Elizabeth Warren. But she failed to more fully distinguish herself from Bernie's movement, and even more closely aligned herself with him when she adopted his healthcare policy. Which is a shame, because she would have made a terrific president.
3
Its true the Bern is out of step with much of this formerly great nation.
You now who right in line with? The Base. No, not the Democrat Base...the Trump Base.
He feels their pain, shares their frustration, knows they have been left behind with no hope of catching up.
He has answers for them, good answers. The best thing is, in a real world, he's not all that far left. Bernie is pretty much right where an uber-Capitalist, Adam Smith, say, would want him to be.
Bernie knows what Adam knew: no society can survive if personal fortune takes priority over national well-being and financial health.
That means workers must have work and must be fairly paid for it, and THAT means they must be able to afford secure and comfortable lives, see opportunities for better future.
That means corporations must pay for what they use, not use big hunks of money to bribe politicians to let them off the hook and pass costs to the middle class and the poor.
It means, duh, that workers must be healthy and educated if they are to give their best to their employers and make them even richer.
It means the rich and the corporate know in their souls the first job they have is to pay their taxes, enough taxes to keep the nation safe, in good repair, and growing. It's AFTER that they take their winnings.
We have failed on every score, and are paying exactly the price Adam Smith warned centuries ago we would pay if we failed to properly train and powerfully regulate business people.
13
@John
Very nice, Tks John.
Can we at last honestly agree that America was last great when unionism was at it's strongest? That participating, dues paying, 35% of the work force made life better for everyone. Including the now missing middle class.
1
@John
Much of the wealth was produced by dumping 'negative externality costs' on us, our country, our kids & grand-kids, our environment, and our world --- of which Adam Smith had little to no understanding that obscene profits could be made in such a manner.
Smith is inaccurately quoted often but Stiglitz, Krugman, et. al. are both modern, informed, and humanitarian economists.
1
Bernie Sanders talks nice and inspirational but after doing some research including his campaign website 4 years ago, I realized that Bernie talks high ideals and inspirational ways to make our country a better place but he has done absolutely nothing to actually try to do any other things he is calling for. He talks nice but he has never had the ability to delivered one single item on his "change the world" list. I want a Democratic candidate with accomplishments that I can use to evaluate whether that candidate will be an effective President.
13
@Jeff
But hasn't his agenda been embraced by most of the Democratic party? Once he gets past the corrupt nomination process (with closed and semi-closed primaries/caucuses) he will have access to the majority of American voters who are NEITHER Democrat or Republican where his ideas will resonate (compared to Biden's surely). This is how real change will occur.
1
It is now clear that Joe Biden will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. We can only hope that he will defeat Donald Trump in November. But make no mistake the grotesque financial inequality in the USA must be addressed and it is unlikely that will happem whomever wins the election. Bernie Sanders was not the ideal candidate because he was calling for changes the American people are not ready to embrace thanks significantly to the lobbying of establishment voices, including the New York Times.
If Sanders had mostly focused on improving America's grossly unfair health care system, and not identified himself as a socialist, which he isn't, it might have turned out differently. Or maybe not. A more appealing advocate might have had a better chance. As someone who was born and raised in the United States and has lived more tha 50 years in Canada I am acutely aware that the American health system is grossly inadequate for most ordinary people. Sanders overreached by demanding that everyone must embrace medicare for all, rather than offering it as an option.
It is time for Americans to set aside the myths and abandon the canard that everything is better in the USA. It isn't. A glimpse of where the US ranks in life expectancy, infant mortality, suicide and others measures of a just and successful society, is working well for the wealthy but not for the vast majority.
15
@Tom Barrett They tut tut over Trump fiddling while Rome burns but do precisely the same thing. They put out a fire now and again but the end result might not be that different unless you go at the source.
Bernie Sanders is a very imperfect candidate but he is trying to put out the fire by attacking the source. He's the only candidate to speak with the appropriate urgency about this pandemic, and the paid trolls supporting both the Democrats and Republicans immediately set upon him to ridicule his statements--which were simply the statements of our most knowledgable epidemiologists.
Maybe Sanders' supporters-- mostly young people who see how dire the climate issue is--will have the last laugh but there's only agony in having been right when you are saw humanity threatened by avoidable crisis, and you failed to stop it.
1
Radical Ideas. Healthcare for all, college without debt, rebuilding the infrastructure, higher taxes on the rich.
The radical agenda is NOT fixing what is wrong with America.
And when will the centrists face the real issue. What will all of those things cost if we DON"T do something now.
We are a live in the moment country. And when things go awry, the cost of fixing them becomes astronomical.
MC for all may have "projected costs" of $15 trillion. What will it cost if we don't change things.
Stop living in the moment and think about the future. That's what Bernie does.
8
@richard g: Bernie has great and worthwhile I ideas but a President has to motivate the Congress to get things done. For all his years in Congress and other political jobs, he has little success getting any legislation passed.
9
@richard g
no what Bernie does is live in a fantasy bubble and he has dragged a lot of whiners into it with him.
1
As a Canadian, what Bernie proposes sounds much like what we have. We have universal health care, everyone is covered, regardless of age and pre-existing conditions. The cost of healthcare is paid from taxes collected at the federal and provincial level. Each province administers its own health insurance plan which must meet requirements set under federal law. The provinces negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies. Health care services are delivered by physicians and other health care professionals in private practice and by hospitals and other not-for-profit organizations in much the same way as in the US. We have no for profit hospitals. We each choose our own physician. This is what Bernie wants, is it not?
13
@gbc1 Bernie actually has a pretty long list of stuff he wants; Medicare for All is only one item. You can read his positions elsewhere in the Times. I would note most are not similar to Canada's. His immigration policies, btw, are utterly unlike Canada's system, which was aptly described by a 2018 Atlantic article as a welcome mat behind a bed of nails. In other words -- Canada welcomes cherry-picked (well-educated, not poor) immigrants; thus, in its own way, it limits who receives Canadian health care, does it not? What's more, until last year, Canada simply turned down would-be immigrants or would-be long-term visa holders whose care appeared to be expensive to Canadian authorities. Yes, absolutely, many problems with health care and immigration policies here in the US of A. But no place, not even Canada, is perfect.
1
@gbc1
It took Canada how many decades to get there? how many provinces allowed then removed universal health care?
The answer to that is in a detailed history of Socialized Medicine published yesterday in the NYTimes.
I suggest you read it before sticking your nose into the politics of America.
1
@Awestruck Excellent. These Canadians who are forever going on about how good it is in Canada should not fool anyone. Canada depends on the US for trade, national defense and medical research. They would be a better country were they more self-critical, like America.
This is the first article I have read on Bernie Sanders that I would label fair and balanced. No, it doesn't have to be hagiographic, just respectful and honest about what the man has fought to achieve.
When I was a honors high school student 55 years ago, we were urged to read the NY TImes daily, as we "could not be considered educated" if we didn't. I have watched daily as the Times did admirable work, and work that was way less than admirable, as when it supported our misguided wars over and over again.
Now, I'm sitting in my apartment as the world seems to be crumbling around me and I'm asking myself why did this take so long? Why does so much energy go into shoring up the warmongers, the exploiters, the greedy, and those whose biggest problem is whether they should purchase that million dollar condo in Brooklyn or the on the Upper West Side?
No, Bernie may not be a saint, but he has been an honorable man with a vision for a humane and just society. And in many ways he has succeeded.
Why was it so hard for the NY Times to write about that until now?
PS: Good luck with Biden.
28
@TM "Good luck with Biden" ? Why not just tell the readers of the NYT that you're happy to have 4 more years of Trump if it's not Bernie? That's the Cult of Bernie, not a Democrat. And it means you aren't listening to Bernie -- who wants Trump defeated.
The problem with such fatuous either-or questions about who misjudged whom, Sanders or America, is that they do not admit of nuance. Further, there is the misleading assumption in the question that headlines the piece that: 1) someone(s) on one side or the other misjudged, and 2) Sanders' proposals are 'radical.' Sander' prescriptions that he has been fighting for, on behalf of the most vulnerable, for many years now are now part of the mainstream conversation, and it may well be that if Elizabeth Warren had withdrawn her candidacy before Super Tuesday, he would have momentum in his side. We'll never know. But what we do know is that his prescriptions for change that would do some real good for the most vulnerable Americans is in line with that 'radical' document called the Declaration of Independence which asserted that all of us are created equal.
6
I know Bernie Sanders. He is my father and all the like-minded people on that side of my family. They are devoted to working men and women who are struggling to survive. Their hearts are in the right place. However, they are intransigent. There is no compromise. There is no modifying one’s views in the interest of getting anything done. I cannot support a movement that ignores the consequences of stubborn adherence to theory while ignoring the reality of the mess we face.
15
@VKG So, show us all the important things that Bernie has accomplished. Four years ago his campaign website was curiously silent on the issue.
@VKG hmm, you don't care about actually getting anything done?
I hope that some don’t interpret this great essay as more “anti Bernie” vitriol from the establishment. It shows that Bernie is in essence an activist, not a politician. AOC is likely to travel the same path. He is not wired to seek accountability in his actions, only threats from the status quo.
The article correctly highlights that Sanders’ path to the nomination has much more to do with his rivals than himself. There was no Hillary this time around, just a superb group of bright, honest candidates who coalesced when given the chance to defeat Trump. No anti-Bernie conspiracy here.
8
@Daniel B except that all of the people on the dem side who know that what Sanders proposes isn't really all that radical, but refuse to support it anyway, under the guise of electability. That is the establishment problem that his campaign has been faced with. people too selfish to give up anything that they have for the betterment of society. As the article points out, the dems have pretty much lost the white working class vote to the republicans, and because of that, will probably lose this election. That's okay for the business oriented and financially capable people among us, but for most, we will have a hard road ahead.
I think most people make the following associations:
Biden <=> stability
Sanders <=> change
At the moment, given the heightened anxiety stemming from a combination of an unreliable existing president plus a global health crisis -- it is not at all surprising that many people are leaning toward the candidate they associate with stability. This is not to say that Sanders couldn't handle the crisis; he'd probably be fine. But he just doesn't convey that sense of stability and a return to the known, that so many people are yearning for now.
9
@Zzz
Yes, this is Biden's sales pitch. Unfortunately, it only works on his own party's establishment. It may get him the nomination - and then he'll get destroyed in the general election when 3/4 of the voting public, who are NOT Democrats, come to the polls. Then there's the other half of America that doesn't vote at all. They sure won't turn out for an ancient, establishment candidate, like Biden. The arguments now being used to support the democratic nomination candidate do not work for the general election. So, we'll be looking at another Trump administration.
1
Robert Draper's profile adds dimensions to Sanders that elevate him enormously, in my view. As a Warren supporter, I'm pretty much on board with everything that Bernie stands for, yet did not find him the more convincing spokesperson of the two. This piece gets beyond policy and strategy and brings a human dimension that is compelling. And what terrific writing: "avid non-presence" on the D.C. social circuit. Great phrase for the Bernie persona. Even more, noticing the navy blazer and matching tie Sanders wore to his speech following Warren's withdrawal from the race as "an implicit show of respect for the vanquished." Sanders' tribute to Warren then, and a feeling of common mission and warmth he showed last night during the debate, notched Bernie up quite a bit in my view. But Mr. Draper has now also captured my attention as a writer to follow. Thank you!
17
@DeirdreG I agree. I was also an avid Warren supporter who struggled with Sanders' affect. This piece helps me appreciate him more.
I have to say, I think Bernard Sanders has run a terrible, unfocused campaign riddled with magical thinking and denial of reality. His strategy of running against everybody and everything has left defeating Donald Trump, the only thing that really matters in this election, as an afterthought. There also seems to be a quaint notion that in voting for a nominee, we shouldn't vote for who we think can win, and that somehow, if we eliminate that factor from the equation, Bernard would emerge victorious. But winning in November is a factor, and, to people like me, it is the only factor. In addition, he keeps waiting for a youth vote to turn out that even he admits is not happening. Bernard also seems to cling to the notion that a vote cast with "energy" counts more than a vote cast casually or with a sense of relief; obviously, it doesn't. I hope that 48 hours from now it will be clear to all that Biden is going to be the nominee and that Bernard will gracefully concede and throw his support behind Joe. But, if past is prologue, I have my doubts.
17
@BMc everything is impossible until it is done. Many of the things that we take for granted in todays world only came after blood, sweat and tears were shed. This includes the 8-hour workday, child labor laws and the woman's suffrage movement. We as a society owe it to ourselves to always be thinking of how we can improve the world around us. Doing this so adamantly is the only fault of Sanders' camp, and us writing those ideas off as magical thinking, swallowing the propaganda put forth by the media, is ours.
2
@BMc Your reading and critical thinking skills need some improvement. As the debate last night proved, Sanders has facts, figures, and practical & pragmatic plans at his fingertips. He also doesn't pander, like Biden is wont to do, with treacly anecdotes. And if you had actually read this article, you would have learned all the ways in which Sanders has influenced legislation, worked with both the Democratic establishment and Republicans for the good of our nation. I am really tired of all the doublespeak going on in this nation when it comes to evaluating Sanders and his platform. For example, in the debate last evening, Sanders addressed both short-term and long-term solutions to the current healthcare crisis, and connected both sets of solutions to a Medicare for All program while Biden kept saying there was no connection and that only the short-term solutions were necessary--and by implication, that once the crisis was over we could go back to inadequate health care (a "tweaked" Obamacare) and extensive financial inequality. Biden's view--and the average fearful voter's focus on short-term solutions is what the current administration promotes and what Democrats for much too long have aided and abetted, if not out of desire, certainly out of a lack of conviction and knowledge of history, and courage to speak the truth plainly to Americans. Maybe if we improved education, the critical thinking skills would improve and we wouldn't all be such sheep!
In light of Sanders' past deed and his unambiguous progressive position on health care, income inequality, education and the present dysfunctional political system, what right-minded American wouldn't support those positions?
41
The brainwashed masses...? Can you think of any other credible possibility?
the black community in every state...know his half-baked ideas cannot become law in America so we voted for the other guy.
And Bernie can't be bothered to come to our community and talk to us....so don't expect our vote
maybe it has occured to Bernie and you...by this time- there is NO Winning the Democrat Nomination for President of the United States of America without the Black Demographic. Period.
3
@chet380 Which right minded Americans? Right minded Americans that are in touch with the sad reality that almost none of his proposals would make it through Congress.
Drastic change in this Country has unfortunately always come in bits and pieces. There is FDR...but his changes were successful because of the crisis of the Great Depression.
Right now, I'll go with someone who I think can be elected. That would be a definite start.
1
It feels, too often, that Bernie Sanders, whom I admire, would rather be right than president.
31
@SG
Funny thing is that he'll be neither.
@SG Right in his own mind, that is.
How much further do you think Sanders should bend over backwards? There are progressive policies that must be fought for and enacted. It’s too late for half-measures. Should he lie too and tell you everything’s fine? Or are you a grown up who deals with truth and responsibility? The Millennials are!
Robert Draper's lengthy summary, "The Latest," was not only brilliantly written but emotionally moving. The work of Bernie Sanders as not only a leader but a visionary for the vast number of working-class people has been remarkable, and Robert Draper explains in detail the genius of Bernie's life's attention to those for whom he speaks. I listened to the recording from the first word to the last, and the mastery of it will stay in my mind and memory.
26
@Sandydorf A visionary has something new to contribute. Sanders does not. He re-hashes old ideas, propaganda and has no practicality. He is completely ineffective. Too smart for his own good, as people will say. Old radicals are too rigid. I know, I was raised by one. Did you know that once you join the Communist Party, you can never quit? There is no way to leave it. You are simply inactive.
The reason young voters didn't turn out like he expected is he convinced them all that the elections are fixed.
Ironically, his campaign did such a good job many young voters decided he was going to lose even before the primary contests began and opted to not play the establishment's game at all.
Voting for Bernie, only to see him lose, would be validating a system Bernie taught them to despise.
His tactics dove-tailed perfectly with the reich-wing's efforts to make young people confuse cynicism with wisdom.
Once you convince people the gig is fixed, their mind closes to ALL options including Bernie.
18
@johnnymorales this is exactly what I am seeing among several in my friend group (liberal millennials). They are so disaffected they have stopped even trying, including to get Sanders elected. I will add that Russian disinformation, and Trump's continuous efforts to paint 'all sides' as equally corrupt, is not helping anyone's faith in the political system either.
I don't think my friends are a good sampling of the general electorate. However, it is reflecting an interesting phenomenon amongst millennials and must be addressed to increase turnout.
11
@johnnymorales It didn't take Bernie Sanders to convince them that the American political system is owned and operated by rich fascists. They're young, not stupid.
@johnnymorales Are you claiming that Bernie despises democracy? That’s the system that’s selecting Biden to run as the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren remind me of trusted physicians at the annual physical exam of a long term patient:
"You need to stop smoking, start exercising, loose 25 pounds, and get that blood pressure down."
Basically that's what Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are saying to the American Public.
Yeah, like good doctors advice, no one wants hear it, no one wants to believe that things are 'that bad', no one wants to start going to the gym three nights a week.
That doesn't make the doctors prescription wrong.
The country, with the help of corporate democrats has abandoned the working class and our young adults. If we don't repair our social safety net, our infrastructure,affordable tuition, and things like paid sick leave and childcare, things will continue to get worse.
As it is, living here is more and more like living in a third world country every day. The gap between the have and have nots is already huge and continues to widen. And it's not just about bank accounts. It's about basic care.
47
I wrote this before, but do not see it posted. I think its a very valid point not being addressed sufficiently.
Bernie's waning support among the working class-- white and black, in 2020 is a reflection of his Immigration policy. Even as recently as 2015, he has voiced support for controlling legal and illegal immigration (along with guest worker programs) because they decrease US wages and hurt labor. He has rightly pointed out that at a time of devastating US factory closures, allowing migrants to enter through a guest worker program or illegally will only exacerbate the american working classes' desperation.
But now, behind him stands a new coalition of ultra progressives who want lax immigration enforcement and a relatively generous safety net. This has given him a foothold among Hispanic voters, for sure. But he has lost his 2016 coalition of working class and rural whites. Unfortunately, he could not convince African Americans (middle aged and old) that his policies and coalition is to their benefit as well.
I think more than Medicare for All, its Bernie's Immigration position that has resulted in his drop in support.
9
Senator Sanders envisions a role for the federal government as a benevolent dictator. His vision is admirable, but socialism has the same root of failings as capitalism, systems are run by humans that will always have myopic, selfish perspectives. Senator Sanders does little to try to reconcile how one can maintain socialistic federal benefits, within a market-based economy. He glosses over the details of how to maintain the best aspects of both.
He needs to be more humble in his own electoral success as well. I would postulate that a large fraction of this support is for his going against the establishment, not for his actual proposed solutions. Pres. Trump feeds on the same emotions of those feeling left on the margins. Sen. Sanders is not garnering a larger share of the electorate that Ross Perot did bucking the establishment. I would not call his campaign a "revolution".
He also needs to acknowledge that we would not be talking about medicare for all is Pres. Obama had not expended all of his political capital on passing the ACA. He likes to criticize it for not doing enough, but the ACA was a legislative heave that Sanders has not shown the ability to hoist. One day we will likely have medicare for all, or some form of universal coverage, and I hope Sen. Sanders gets to see it and gets some credit for his long efforts to elevate the discussion of health care as a human right.
7
As an outsider to the US, from Canada, I was most impressed with the performance in the debate of Biden and Sanders. Both are articulate and in complete command of their facts, both showed great leadership, either would be a capable president, both would be vastly better than Trump.
If i were a US voter i would choose Biden. I like Bernie and he is right on many things, although certainly not all, but he is seeking more reform than a majority of Americans will support. In particular, Bernie's opposition to the support given to the banks during the financial crisis of 2009 (which was exactly the right thing to do and avoided a disaster), and his extremely adverse remarks against other industries as well, the auto industry, the oil industry, the drug industry, the health care industry, all show that his biases against essential US institutions are simply too great. No doubt reforms are needed, but Bernie goes too far, he would get no cooperation.
Biden represents a return to normal, a return to trusted leadership, his administration will be supported, Bernie's would be at odds with too many people. Biden should get the nomination, Bernie should support him, Biden should adopt what he can of Bernie's policies.
16
@gbc1 The caveat being the Banks should have been broken up and a revival of Glass-Steagall regulations.
Obama and Biden just kicked the can down the road as we witness another deep hitting recessionary reaction to COVID-19, which is only part of the picture. The market was bound to crash, either segmentally or by gradual diminishing returns. What do we see the FED desperately trying to plug a dike cracking from High interest-low value junk bonds feeding the Energy speculators, Credited Default Swaps and Mortgage -backed derivatives in the failure zone. All the usual suspects of a destabilizing financial, risk-enhanced system. No Bernie was absolutely correct in leveraging these criminal into accepting less risky behavior. The bottom of the Dow could reach 12,000 points before the month of May. Neo-liberal globalism and arbitrage of labor constraining domestic production and American labor feeds an already irrational panic in financial markets. Either Biden or trump will lead this next generation down a path to failure and a revolution of seismic proportions.
Only in the US having the universal health care can be considered as a radical idea. In other industrialized countries--it is a fact, and majority of people there think of it as a human right. Mr. Sanders in his support of the universal healthcare follows the rest of of the developed world where human live is considered a highly valued commodity worthy of investment. Of course, people there also care more about each other.
28
@atk Literally every Democratic candidate running this cycle supports universal healthcare. They just advocate for a public option, which happens to be a much more common system. No country on earth offers anything close to what Sanders proposes.
11
@Mercury S The UK and Italy have a public healthcare system, not just single-payer. What Sanders proposes is to the right of that and it does exist in many states in Europe and in Canada.
8
@Douglas Presler Those countries do not ban the purchase of private insurance, which Sanders has said he would do. I think that's why some put him to the left of every other country on Earth.
5
It's bad timing for Bernie. Most people don't want a revolution and upheaval of the system, they want a return to stability and civility.
20
@Rick
You're talking about the bourgeoisie. What about all those who don't know what this word means? For them, there's little good to "return" to (at least in the past 40 years). We need major reforms now more than ever! The service sector economy will shutting down. Do you think everyone who can't go longer than a week or two without a paycheck finds the status quo so good. Maybe THIS is the time to for Yang's universal basic income.
19
@Rick Our very own Brexit issue--that absorbs all thought of anything else or (may we dare to believe!) anything better.
@Rick The disenfranchised do not have a pocketbook or portfolio to vote for.
Dear Senator Sanders,
Thank you for fighting for us. Thank you for bringing our needs to the forefront. Thank you for serving as an inspiration for what a candidate and campaign should strive to be. Thank you for still believing that this country should be a place of equality and the ability to pursue happiness. You have inspired millions.
57
The 2018 midterms spelled the end of Sanders and arguments about being "right" are not what this election is about - it's about winning.
Two groups of Americans have coalesced around Biden:
- Moderates who want to go slowly but still in a leftward direction;
- Those who watched the election returns in 2018 and on Super Tuesday this year and decided that the best person to beat the GOP, which is Job#1, was Biden.
A glaring instance of Sanders's foolhardiness about the election is his insistence on the "socialist" label - it scares many voters and it isn't even true.
Countries all over western Europe, the "social democracies," have what Sanders wants for the US and they aren't socialist - they are robustly "capitalist," but with strong protections against laissez-faire capitalism.
Every candidate has flaws; Bernie's are fatal to his election hopes.
12
@russ They will be wrong and trump will pack the courts with more reactionaries. It ain't over 'till it's over, But the Corporate Democratic ethos is a poisoned pill we've been swallowing since the sellout in 1984.
Close to 40% of employees work for large or "very large" companies. Another 25% or so for mid-size companies. Many of these people are proud of their jobs. So when Bernie rails against "the corporations", how many Americans does he lose? And why is he so enthusiastic about not speaking to them?
15
I like Bernie, I really do. If I were asked to pick the candidate who's ideas and values aligned most closely with my own, it would be him. But 2020 is all about beating Trump, and the math just doesn't look like it's going to work out for him.
I also think that he needs to stop raging against the "Democratic establishment". It's not backroom operatives who have Biden in the lead. That's actually pretty condescending to the millions of people who actually voted for Joe. It's white suburban, and African-American women everywhere, that are largely driving this. But Biden is also winning among the non-college educated white men that everyone has been so obsessed with since 2016.
Bernie supporters are passionate. They have the t-shirt, the bumper sticker, and they will fight you to the death online - but they don't actually vote in large enough numbers. Bernie hasn't managed to expand the electorate the way he needs to.
The MAGAts are coming out in FORCE for Trump, and without a huge turnout, Democrats have no chance.
Bernie has changed the conversation, and the party, and those are huge accomplishments. But at this point, I don't realistically see a path to the nomination for him.
15
I remember when I was 6 years old having an epiphany regarding money. My older brother (7 years old) had saved all his money from previous gifts and I'd spent it. During a family gathering we each received the same amount in combined cash gifts. I had $75 my brother had $145 total. My uncle noticed me crying because my brother had more money than me and gave me $20. When I bragged to my brother, it some how got back to my uncle and he gave my brother $20 too. I stopped crying when we started playing a board game (monopoly) - Two hours later, my brother suggested we play a game with the board game's dices - He picked 5, I picked 4. Coincidentally, 7 was the most frequent number that kept coming up while playing with monopoly money. 15 minutes later, my brother insisted we play with real money and his number be 7. I told my brother I'd agree if we only played with 1 dice and I keep the same number, he agreed. I was up $115, when my mother noticed how uncharacteristically quiet we both were. Unfortunately, she made me give my brother all his money back. One hour later I caught my mother gazing at me with both admiration and concern as my grandmother and uncle laughed in the background. Was I behaving like Bernie, Biden or Trump?
3
Alas that Bernie is an anomaly in American politics. Much of what he says is true, much of what he proposes ought to be done, but in the end what he will have accomplished is airing these things and nudging the discourse (not the Democratic Party). Sigh.
7
Bernie never mentioned that health care expenses in the US are already on trend to be $60 Trillion for the 2022-32 decade. He never effectively explained that, by eliminating deductibles and co-pays and enormous red tape costs due to multiple systems used in the US, the full national health care cost would be sharply reduced even as higher taxes would replace insurance premiums.
In case after case, Bernie spoke as if the audience knew what he was talking about. They did not know. And they don't know the limitations of the present system -- how it restricts their personal freedom. The candidate who came closest to explaining Bernie's not-so-radical agenda was Elizabeth Warren, but even she did not get as specific and step-by-step as voters needed to hear.
And the value of portable, fully mobile health care entitlement -- a huge increase in life freedom for employees held hostage in dead-end jobs by the threat of losing health insurance -- could be enormous, releasing tremendous mental energy to be devoted to growing the capitalist economy. A truly mobile labor force, relieved from the fear of family illnesses leading to bankruptcy and destitution, could be far bolder and more imaginative in starting or joining new businesses. Nothing unleashes the power of the capitalist model so powerfully as one's independence from the fear of being crushed either by a disease or its costs.
21
@mitchell
You're right.
According ot the Brookings Institution, the top 1% own $25 TRILLION of the nation's wealth. This exceeds the wealth held by the bottom 80% of our population.
A 1% wealth tax would yield about $250 billion/year and about $2.5 Trillion over 10 years.
Elizabeth Warren proposed a 2% wealth tax on net worth households worth 50 Million or more, and 3% on 1 billion or more.
That's a HUGE amount of money that could solve a lot of our most pressing problems.
Elizabeth and Bernie are not delusional. People just don't understand the numbers.
2
I watched the Bernie-Biden debate last night. The only debate I have watched this political season. I feel conflicted: There are programs that Bernie wants which sound like cart before the horse; how do we actually get there from here? Then there was Joe chopping his way through a word salad of glittering generalities. Bernie had offered a basically academic observation that the Chinese were not as impoverished today as they were 40 years ago, and twice Biden loosed a "Trumpian" response about Bernie "praising China." By the end of the debate the former VP looked upset that Sanders hadn't simply folded his tent and given him a victory lap. I finished the night feeling more respect for Sanders and more uncertainty toward our inevitable future.
43
@Lar Yes, the Chinese are better off now. They also have the fastest growth of billionaires in the world. China’s capitalist reforms is improving the lives of all citizens.
'It's about millions of loyal Democrats who have given their time, effort, donations, and votes to' a party that year after year, election after election has turned away from its core values, for our entire lives. Sanders is more of a democrat than what currently makes up the party.
72
Do not underestimate the immigration anxiety that older voters feel. This time Bernie Sanders has added young, minorities and recent citizen to his coalition of supporters. His immigration policies has attracted many Latinos who feel strongly about this issue. I fear at the same time he lost the support of suburban and rural white voters including African-Americans. The racial make up of the nation are changing rapidly and my sense is that like older Americans are not comfortable with this rapid change. Perhaps the exception is California where Sanders had decisive victory.
5
I think Sanders did not know that he would be a strong contender for president because his message was so foreign to Americans. I am sure he is very pleased with how well his message, his vision has been received.
What motivates Sanders is very different from what motivates most people.
15
@Morgan, sorry, your theory doesn't wash. He was a strong contender for president in 2016. Why wouldn't he be in 2020?
@Morgan disagree. You must know that DNC has already had its mini convention for Mr. Biden, the weakest presidential candiate of all time, which I hope is gonna lose against Trump if he wins the nomination. The problem for Bernie is the media, the CNN, the New York Times, The Washington Post and of course the establishment.
While it’s true that Biden has his groove back and Bernie has become sanguine, some disconnects in our Democratic Party are becoming clear.
On Sunday, Bernie was called out for comments of social progress indicators in otherwise dishonorable communist regimes.
Biden saw an easy-in and laid into a pathetic round of circular reasoning, an arc which actually began earlier in the debate in a benevolent light. When he spoke about a borderless pandemic or refugees, Biden denounced xenophobia (a point Bernie agreed on). When he addressed his (“I wrote that...”) vision for climate change, Biden argues that it is not just the US, other nations are responsible too so we have to work collectively (Bernie was frustrated; and seemed to be running out ways to say that he is talking about serious technological change).
However, RE: Bernie’s acknowledging some progress in communist regimes, Biden stood apart from Bernie, he completely denounced China. This statement came across as rather myopic at a time when we global scientists are working side by side to overcome coronavirus, or in a society beholden to intricate production networks, or in a US that is home to Chinese nationals who study and work here.
These issue-by-issue soundbites may help candidates win the round, but may be counterproductive at worst. Perhaps the move is to pioneer intellectually inclusive teams to bring about conceptual clarity and connect the dots to unite our electorate, not jab each other or drag us.
8
I wish that the Sanders campaign could distinguish between support for particular policies and support for a particular candidate. To do otherwise is to create a cult of personality.
12
@Naomi:
You mean for example the fact that candidate Sanders is supported by a majority of likely Democratic voters under 40, and Biden isn't?
Sorry, but Bernie's policies are popular, and not just with Democratic voters, therefore he has much better chance against Trump.
22
@Naomi I don't care about Sanders at all. In fact I would relish the opportunity to have other choices, other candidates to vote for. But I don't. There's only one candidate that's not bought, that's not beholden to corporate interests. In this cycle, it's Sanders. Moving forward, hopefully there will be other candidates who will run a clean campaign. Hopefully more citizens will understand that we're not going to see any real change as long as corporations control the government.
21
@Yaj All indications show otherwise, including the young voters who failed to be moved enough to vote in the Primaries. He's gotten less votes in every state so far that's voted, than he did in 2016. I'm not against Bernie, just saying.
6
Obituaries of outstanding women, many years after their deaths has been a theme in the NYT of late. This column is thoughtful, although the tone is funereal-- speeding up the cycle of ignoring news then writing of the forgotten newsmaker's demise.
It's not over. When and if it is, it will be written about years from now (if we have a cohesive country or a planet) as that time we could have saved ourselves.
8
I’m 65 years old, and I have to remind myself that an entire generation has never experienced what I took for granted as a young, middle class White man: inexpensive public higher education, government-assisted mortgages, public investment in infrastructure, Federal regulation of Wall Street & the financial industry, a top tax bracket of 70% for America’s most wealthy and political parties that cooperated with each other. If anything is “Socialist’ and “Radical” about Warren & Sander‘s policies is that they simply want the same kind of New Deal/Great Society policies to apply to all Americans, not just the White middle class.
71
@DCJ
Much appreciate your comment. I agree with you 100%. There is little that is very radical in either Sanders or Warren's programs.
Bold, yes; a return to liberalism, yes; and, compared to the benign often cruel neglect and incrementalism of the moderates, absolutely essential to cope with the scale of today's problems.
21
@DCJ I'm a few years younger and remember when Help Wanted ads were broken into Male and Female. Guess which category carried the ads offering opportunities for advancement and decent wages and which category of ads wanted someone young and attractive to work for a "great bunch of guys" at a low salary with no growth opportunities. As for mortgages, I remember not being able to get on the housing ladder because interest rates were 16%. Take off the rose-colored bifocals.
2
@DCJ I agree. I'm 56 and went to SUNY for $700/semester - in the 1980s. I find it incredibly ironic that the 1950s economy that the GOP idealizes was based on public funding for the common good - high taxes building the interstate highway system, and high-wage union jobs giving strong purchasing power to the working class.
6
This is an excellent article, although one that will unlikely change anyone's point of view as regards Sanders, particularly if they're in his camp or decidedly not.
I wish it had spent just a little time on how many Sanders supporters portray his past and his record. In addition to their vitriol and attacks on anyone who doesn't support their candidate, their distortions of his history may have hurt him more than helped him.
For instance, their insistence that Sanders is some sort of civil rights hero does not sit well with many in the African American community--nor should it. And when Sanders states (in this article) that he's had to "learn" about the Black and Latino populations because Vermont has a very small population of each, he admits that he is not at all that champion of the Black community's interests.
In fact, not only is he uninformed, not only has he not focused on issues affecting Black communities across the country, but he has discounted the affects of race on people's lives, sweeping race aside to focus on class instead. During his 2016 campaign especially, Sanders dismissed those who supported women candidates or candidates of color as practicing "identity politics," a term he seems to have lately--thankfully--dropped.
His continued self-identification as a member of the white working class also indicates that he does not relate to POC. This is a huge problem for Sanders with many who care deeply about racism in America.
24
@NEMama Perhaps if we stop droning on and on about race, then those issues would dissipate. As a POC, I don't feel like I need someone to champion my racial rights. I want someone to give me a fair chance to gain economically, and to move up in the class-system. You paint him to be a racist? The man is Jewish and he lived through the 50s and 60s. A time not so kind to that subset of people. Turn your senselessness towards Biden, who often says racist things unconsciously.
1
@NEMama
“In addition to their vitriol and attacks on anyone who doesn't support their candidate, their distortions of his history may have hurt him more than helped him.”
This is outlandish, unfounded hyperbole. In reading comments on election stories in the New York Times and the Washington Post over the past month, virtually all the vitriol, ad hominem, and personal attacks have come from supporters of moderate candidates. Virtually none of the Sanders supporters have engaged in what your describe.
Not a champion of their interests? Are they the one percent?
Excellent piece. Well done Mr. Draper.
Maybe a bit overdue by 3-4 years, but a fair and thorough account of the candidate, the message/platform, and the campaign.
11
Please - It says nothing about Bernie now but don't repeat this traditional falsehood that Bernie Sanders was some sort"writer and film makers" who absconded to Vermont from New York. The truth is that for many years Sanders who had never trained for an occupation was scrambling to make a living doing all sorts of odd jobs including low level mental health and education jobs and unskilled skilled jobs like carpenter. From reports he was no Harrison Ford as a carpenter. Unlike a lot of politicians, he really needed the first political job mayor of Burlington. While as you say he has spent more than half his life in elected politics he was scuffling for an occupation a lot longer than other people his age at the time.
7
@Milliband So in spite of 40 years of professional accomplishment - as mayor of a city of 40,000, then representing a congressional district of 600,000 in the US House of Representatives, then 15 years as United States Senator - your criticism of Bernie is that his resume prior to 1981 is spotty? Really?
1
@Milliband no i am sorry. this is the situation for biden not for sanders. it is biden who has never done anything for anyone. who is trying to ride the coattails of obama who i voted for twice but was a bad president and helped wall street. sanders is a great man trying to bring change to an establishment that is paying off biden to keep things the same.
@Professor Ben Smith If everything you say is so than an embellishment of his earlier days in Vermont is not necessary. He wrote some crazy stuff in those days that Trump would certainly publicize but I don't think that eliminates him from pursuing the presidency,
1
Bernie's vision is NOT radical. It is humane and necessary. It is long overdue.
I am 29. As a millennial, settling for anything less would be a radical mistake.
My generation is crippled with debt, the cost of health care, stagnate wages, and the doom of the climate crisis.
I have no future without a major shift in policy that treats citizens like human beings, not parts of a machine. A shift in policy that treats Earth as the limited resource that it is.
This is not youthful political zeal...it is the reality of my life. Please listen to us, for your grandchildren. Please listen to our stories and concerns.
85
@Valentina the boomers have been trying to protect their money with Biden. Biden who I think is souless will sell himself to the devil to become president after failing 3 times. biden doesnt care about democrats. he cares about rich democrats and whether they can help him. that is why he kept pretending to appeal to warren voters trying to get her votes. i will not vote for biden and i voted for obama twice. wake up moderate democrats. your gonna lose the election whether you put a woman on the ticket or not.
2
@Professor Ben Smith
If Biden gets the nod and you don't vote for him who will you vote for? Nobody? That's how we got Trump. 4 more years of him and democracy could be a dim memory.
Enjoy your sour grapes if you can afford 'em.
This is tedious. Sanders appropriately judged the enthusiasm of a certain percentage of Americans. This certain percentage was enough to be a leader in primary votes that included a large and fractured field but it was not enough to be the leader when up against a single, centrist opponent. That's it. He had a large, loyal following that responded to his message but it wasn't a large enough following once the field narrowed. Had Klobuchar, Buttigieg, Warren, Yang and Bloomberg remained in the race for another month, we'd be talking about how Sanders was a genius.
13
@SJG You left out a critically crucial point, which is WHY Super Tuesday hit us Berners so hard: the DNC were on the phones, promising the sun and the moon to Pete ("the no-hoper" by then) and to Amy (who should have won her own state, and needed to be seriously bought-out). Bernie - with every brain cell intact, and with decades of knowledge of compromise in order to get his amendments accepted - would demolish Trump. Biden (corporate, nepotistic, slightly senile) not so much.
Sanders has run on what needs to be done. Voters can be ready for that or not. The establishment could be expected to protect its prerogatives aggressively. Voters can either see through that effort or not.
30
I was struck in the debate when Bernie said it is difficult to take on "unpopular" views and to stand as an outsider on principles. To me that shows the depth of his character and convictions over a long career in public service. We must stand for what is right, decent and humane whether it is "popular" or not. Bernie's influence will be felt in time to come because its breadth and long term vision of uplift for the common person.
51
This article makes a lot of valid points, but where were articles like this that showed Sander's pragmatic and generous side during this primary campaign? Sander's is certainly partly to blame for not running a better campaign, but the media, including the Times, has contributed too. As an avid consumer of news, I can attest to an almost unrelenting attack on him from the mainstream, from MSNBC (well documented), to CNN, to the Times and Post.
Many voters no doubt decided that Biden was more electable on their own. But this is despite most national polls showing Sander's beating Trump nationally and in many swing states, and doing about as well as Biden.
And on top of that, survey after survey show that most of Sander's policy proposals, such as higher taxes on the wealthy and Medicare for All, are extremely popular...not so radical. So what explains the overwhelming decision to vote for Biden? I have little doubt that a sizable number of people have been persuaded by the non stop media harping on Sander's so-called non-electability. This is not to say that Biden does not have some real support, but a significant amount of his overall support has likely been manufactured.
In the end though, the reasons so many youth and others like me are disaffected with the dems remains: That mainstream the dems have long been part of the problem. Unless Biden and dems genuinely adopt at least some of Bernie's main policies, which seems unlikely, we will all lose in the end.
52
@Doug I share your insights and perspective. I have been very angry and disillusioned by the type of coverage - and non-coverage - Bernie received during the primary to date. It's as if his campaign was so inconsequential, he didn't deserve equal and unbiased coverage. I actually considered ending my NYT and Washington Post subscriptions because of their biased coverage of Biden. The good news is: It's clear from this shift to Biden - and the reasons for it - that the Democratic Party is corrupt itself, which is good information for all of us to have. I'm seriously considering not voting in November, which would be breaking a 48-year record of voting in every presidential election since 1972. And - I still might cancel my subscriptions...
1
@Doug
2nd reply
Doug, thank you! I think your comment is much more compelling and accurate than the article itself.
Because the NYT's comments layout often makes it difficult to tell exactly what comment is being replied to I partially quote you here:
"In the end though, the reasons so many youth and others like me are disaffected with the dems remains: That mainstream the dems have long been part of the problem. Unless Biden and dems genuinely adopt at least some of Bernie's main policies, which seems unlikely, we will all lose in the end."
1
@Doug
Doug, thank you! I think your comment is much more compelling and accurate than the article itself.
Because the NYT's comments layout often makes it difficult to tell exactly what comment is being replied to I partially quote you here:
"This article makes a lot of valid points, but where were articles like this that showed Sander's pragmatic and generous side during this primary campaign? Sander's is certainly partly to blame for not running a better campaign, but the media, including the Times, has contributed too. As an avid consumer of news, I can attest to an almost unrelenting attack on him from the mainstream, from MSNBC (well documented), to CNN, to the Times and Post. "
Putting a radical idea into reality requires huge support and overwhelming enthusiasm. We had this recently in Barack Obama. He met absolute opposition from Republicans and Mitch McConnell. I've never heard Bernie address this. All Republicans believe that they should not have to pay for your health care. That's roughly half the country. Half.
I admire the energy of young voters, and I was young once. But those of us who've watched this for a few decades know that Republicans won't stand for raising federal taxes and they certainly don't want to pay for anything you need.
28
@Amy I don't remember Obama addressing any of this either. It's a fact of political life. If you get into office you then have to figure out how to get the legislation through Congress. And shortly thereafter, there's a midterm, which can be a referendum on the proposed policy. If the people want it, they will vote candidates into office to help make it a reality. I really don't understand this "aw shucks, let's give up" mentality of the "Left." It's like everyone in the Democratic Party is fine with having two Republicans to vote for in November.
Bernie is ill-suited to American politics and American democracy. Repeatedly he has carved out positions and remained steadfast to them with an overarching philosophy of no compromising. The consequences have been two-fold; very few in the Senate want to work with him and his legislative accomplishments are scant.
This nation's Founding Fathers built this democracy with an underlying foundation/belief that reasonable men could come together and find common ground. Bernie never joined in on that search. He clings to beliefs both large and small that impede his reputation and accomplishments. Despite his comments last night, the momentum in the Democratic party is not with him. And despite his best efforts to convince us otherwise, the majority of us know that we can't provide free healthcare, free college tuition, eliminate medical and student debt, dismantle the fossil fuel, pharmaceutical, healthcare and banking businesses without a tremendous amount of pain and tax increases... while simultaneously paying down a $23 trillion debt.
If ever there was a candidate who needs to find common ground through compromise, it is Bernie.
22
@Tom Q Compromes. You are right regarding his in-capabilities with compromise and common-ground.
Sanders mentions Canadian healthcare relentlessly in his attacks against fellow-Democrats and the Republican Party. But I can tell you that his mindset and modus operandi could never, ever be popular up here in Canada. He would never be considered for the leadership of any party in the country. Even our Green Party would tell him to go away. Political fires don't burn as intensively up here- especially nowadays. And we've never had a figure like Sanders throwing gasoline around on fires like this within his own party.
Medicare started in province of Saskatchewan in the 1950s - and over the course of 15-20 years it was adopted by all provinces in the big country. Saskatchewan was led by the CCF Party - proud socialists whose ideas on healthcare ended up being embraced by both the political right and left in the country - from the unions to the business world. The matter hasn't been a grand flare in any provincial nor federal election since those days.
The CCF was led by Tommy Douglas, unquestionably the country's greatest "socialist" political hero. He was a very sharp man - but quiet and polite. He would've wanted NOTHING to do with Bernie Sanders. Ironically, Douglas was also a devout Baptist preacher before entering politics - as were many others in the party. Different world.
2
@Tom Q He will. He has shown that he can, on the floor of House and Senate. As for the reason the "momentum of the Democrats is not with him"... look no farther than a tanking stock market, Europe in lockdown etc. etc. The times favor a boring (and possibly senile) candidate against someone promising serious change.
@Tom Q
There are some political figures that if they were to describe crossing the road, would be thought as call for bloody revolution. There are others who can intelligently & respectfully present ambitious reforms as practical ways that minimize avoidable confrontation.
Luckily, Canadians have enjoyed more than out share of the latter.
1
Regardless of an economy’s political structure, production problems must be solved pragmatically through science, engineering, technology, management, & the skills of labor. Out of the production process, however, arises wealth or income, & distribution of this wealth or income involves problems of a different order. There is a political dimension to distribution as well as a physical one. The principle of need by itself is romantic and fuels Bernie's politics. “Need” means the animal side of human beings and their creature- comfort requirements. It is the mechanism for allocating wealth or income among all people not on the basis of the productive input of those who participate in production, but on the basis of an opinion or appraisal of the “need” of the people, whether or not they participated in the productive activity, & irrespective of the extent of that participation, if any. All people would have to agree to be selfless in order to focus on the greater good. “To each according to his need” is of necessity a totalitarian principle. By itself, The need principle is unworkable so long as individuals remain even slightly selfish. For the exception of a military state, the need principle fuses politics and economics into a large and impersonal political, corporate, or social structure regarded as intractably indivisible & uniform because those who determine economic need are the same public office holders who wield the society’s political power.
3
People are getting more practical. In the end it is all about the senate and the house - the practical sausage-making of legislation. Which one has "coattails" to help the Dems in this regard? It looks like Biden. Which one has more personal connections that could be helpful in getting bills passed? That looks like Biden too. Which one can generate more international cooperation? Biden again.
Most importantly, which one is more likely to beat Trump? Biden.
In an ideal world, all Bernie's ideas would be fine. Some of them might even pass congress, in that ideal world. In a world of chaos & crisis, right now Biden looks to most like the safer bet.
21