The Pastrami Principle

[George II]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/15/opinion/the-pastrami-principle.html?_r=2

The Pastrami Principle

Paul Krugman APRIL 15, 2016

A couple of months ago, Jeb Bush (remember him?) posted a photo of his monogrammed handgun to Twitter, with the caption “America.” Bill de Blasio, New York’s mayor, responded with a picture of an immense pastrami sandwich, also captioned “America.” Advantage de Blasio, if you ask me.

Let me now somewhat ruin the joke by talking about the subtext. Mr. Bush’s post was an awkward attempt to tap into the common Republican theme that only certain people — white, gun-owning, rural or small-town citizens — embody the true spirit of the nation. It’s a theme most famously espoused by Sarah Palin, who told small-town Southerners that they represented the “real America.” You see the same thing when Ted Cruz sneers at “New York values.”

Mr. de Blasio’s riposte, celebrating a characteristically New York delicacy, was a declaration that we’re also Americans — that everyone counts. And that, surely, is the vision of America that should prevail.

Which is why it’s disturbing to see Palinesque attempts to delegitimize large groups of voters surfacing among some Democrats.

Quite a few people seem confused about the current state of the Democratic nomination race. But the essentials are simple: Hillary Clinton has a large lead in both pledged delegates and the popular vote so far. (In Democratic primaries, delegate allocation is roughly proportional to votes.) If you ask how that’s possible — Bernie Sanders just won seven states in a row! — you need to realize that those seven states have a combined population of about 20 million. Meanwhile, Florida alone also has about 20 million people — and Mrs. Clinton won it by a 30-point margin.

.....Lots more.....

[IamMab]

1. Even from under the Bernie Bus, Krugman still speaks the truth. nt

[CompanyFirstSergeant]

2. Gun owner here...

...who makes home made Reuben sandwiches every Friday for dinner.

Voting for Bernie.

[R B Garr]

3. "And sneering at millions of voters is truly beyond the pale, especially for a progressive."

Krugman nails it. Bernie's whole campaign is based on generalized sneers. Sneering at the South, or "Deep South" as he calls it, wink wink, is especially onerous.

"Remember the pastrami principle: We’re all real Americans. And African-Americans are very definitely real Democrats, deserving respect."

[Dem2]

4. I am getting a little tired of the implied snobbery

And then the accusations that the "other side" are the wealthy snobs.

Whatever.