Bernie Sanders offers the best chance for defeating Trump and his destructive politics

[imagine2015]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/02/campaign-not-over-polls-show-dead-heat-california

Why Bernie Must (and Can) Win
by Christopher D. Cook
June 2, 2016

On Tuesday June 7, voters in California, New Jersey, and four other states can sway the Democratic nomination toward Bernie Sanders – the candidate who all polls show gives Democrats the greatest chance of defeating Donald Trump.

Ignoring this factual reality, mainstream media and pundits, even California’s own Gov. Jerry Brown and Senator Dianne Feinstein, have decided for voters that the Democratic race is over – mirroring a Clinton inevitability narrative launched the day the campaign began. Party and Clinton campaign officials (close relatives to say the least) are simultaneously irate and nervous as heck that Sen. Sanders keeps winning, and has the audacity to run to the end. But if the goal is getting a Democrat in the White House, they ought to reconsider.

All empirical evidence shows that Bernie Sanders consistently polls significantly better than Clinton against the dreaded Trump – every single time. (Check it out for yourself at www.realclearpolitics.com.) More recently, national and key swing state polls – including Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania – show Clinton slipping and Sanders maintaining an advantage over Trump. Nationally, Sanders leads Trump by 15%, while Clinton clings to a negligible 3% margin. Clinton’s unfavorable ratings persistently equal, and in some surveys eclipse those of Trump, while Sanders sports favorable ratings that are unheard of in politics.

Earth to the mainstream media and Democratic Party superdelegates – are you listening? All differences between Sanders and Clinton aside, it is highly risky to run a nominee who consistently matches up worse against the opposition, who has soaring unfavorable ratings, and, quite potentially, a burgeoning and very real email scandal. By contrast, Sanders offers a surging candidacy that energizes the base while attracting significant independent crossover voter support.

It is also worth considering these comparative campaign optics: Hillary Clinton symbolizes everything about the political establishment that Trump has so successfully lambasted and lampooned; meanwhile, Trump represents everything about radical inequality and greed that Bernie Sanders has so successfully campaigned against. Which of these dynamics do you think will work best in the Democrats’ favor?

If you’re a Democrat or an independent voter (“No Party Preference” in California), and you want a Democrat in the White House who has a long consistent history of fighting for economic fairness, corporate accountability, human and civil rights, and against war and military aggression – Bernie Sanders offers the best chance for defeating Trump and his destructive politics of hate-mongering and greed.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/06/02/why-bernie-must-and-can-win

[brooklynite]

1. Sorry...I stopped reading at "polls better"

[flor-de-jasmim]

2. And it's much more than an "email scandal" -- foreign secrets, use of unauthorized personnel...

...questionable relationship with foreign entities x Clinton Foundation--and all of this is separate from differences one may have with views on specific policies.

[TeacherB87]

3. You do realize

that you're advocating the usurpation of the will of voters because the losing candidate polls better correct? Would it not be a scandal if the will of voters, especially women and people of color that supported Clinton in large numbers, was undemocratically overturned by superdelegates? Does that send the right message to Democratic Party members?

We can have a discussion about Hillary's baggage and other issues, but I don't understand why Bernie supporters refuse to accept that what they want at this point is undemocratic.