What now? Sanders supporters shift allegiance to Clinton, Trump – and Stein

[coyote]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/13/sanders-supporters-vote-trump-clinton-stein

What now? Sanders supporters shift allegiance to Clinton, Trump – and Stein
Sarah Eberspacher
The Guardian

After the pair appeared at the joint rally, the Guardian asked Sanders supporters: what now?

We received 375 responses on readers’ plans for their November vote. And despite the show of solidarity with Clinton on Tuesday, Sanders’ fans aren’t all convinced the presumptive Democratic nominee is who they will now support: Green party nominee Jill Stein was the most popular among reader respondents, with 171 new supporters, more than double the number who said they would move their support to Clinton.

A write-in vote for Sanders was also a popular option, with just 20 respondents opting for Trump. These results aren’t necessarily a representative sample, and they differ significantly from a Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday, which found that 85% of Sanders supporters intended to vote for Clinton.



My comment: Looking at this survey, seems like unity is pretty weak between Sanders and Clinton supporters.

[BlueNoMatterWho]

1. Not good.

But hopefully with more campaigning together they can bring those numbers higher for Secretary Clinton.

[Mass]

7. You realize this is NOT a scientific poll

They asked readers to write them. Typically, such polls attract people who are mad.

[MH1]

17. Thank you, good point.

I had skimmed the article and missed that. I thought it was odd, as the posted results don't seem to agree with what I've heard from other polls.

Self-selection of the respondents explains it.

[Kingofalldems]

24. So you are not questioning this poll?

But you do question this one:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512251885

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512251885#post3

The one you questioned is actually scientific.

Could you explain?

[JaneyVee]

31. It's a meaningless online poll.

[NurseJackie]

45. Yet again. (Haven't we seen enough of these already?)

Sigh.

[ismnotwasm]

53. That was my thought

I thought we were done with those...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

37. I don't think it's a scientific poll.

[BlueNoMatterWho]

41. I don't either. Hopefully they just made it up.

[In_The_Wind]

2. I'm voting for Hillary.

[liberal N proud]

3. Most of those would never vote Democratic in the first place

They were simply supporting Sanders in an effort to beat Hillary.

But that is just my view of it.

[tonyt53]

4. I am in total agreement with you.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Sounds about right.

[seabeyond]

11. I agree with you. Nt

[vi5]

19. "would never vote Democratic in the first place"

That describes a lot of people who our Dem leaders (not just HRC but Obama and countless others) try to appeal to by taking positions favorable to Republicans who never in a million years would vote for a Democrat.

That's what's gotten a lot of people disillusioned with politics in general and the Democratic party specifically. There are tons of people who would definitely vote Dem if given a reason to (I mean other than "the other guys are worse&quot if only our candidates would stand up vigorously for certain positions. But instead they try and thread needles at best or at worst take the Republican talking point position in the hopes that they don't alienate people who would never vote Democratic any way no matter what. They pick up nothing, and lose a lot more in the process.

And again, just saying "the other guys are worse" is not giving people a reason and not enough to energize people. I'm a core Democratic voter of 35+ years, every single election from President down to dogcatcher, straight party line vote all the time. And even I'm completely underwhelmed by this election. I'll vote, and I'll vote for Hillary but I completely see and sympathize why people (especially young people) would be totally uninspired by a choice between one candidate who is an unrepentant racist and another who is the the embodiment of dynastic political establishment.

I'm hopefull Hillary realizes this and starts campaigning accordingly to try and win some of these voters over rather than tacking right to try and peel off Republicans, but history tells me I may be in for disappointment.

[Cary]

43. Hillary Clinton is awesome

She won the nomination handily. I'm certain she knows whether she needs Hillary haters or not. I mean does Jill Stein have 2%? Let's get real here, can we?

The people who hate Hillary Clinton are reachable? I don't think so. Hate does bad things to the human brain. Again I am sure Hillary Clinton has a handle on this, and I am sure that we Democrats are better off without haters of any kind.

[vi5]

46. If she doesn't need haters...

Then why does she take positions favorable to winning over Republicans who would never in a million years vote for her, probably even less likely to than the Bernie voters?

You can't have it both ways. You can't justify her taking republican leaning if not outright republican positions in order to win those voters over, which she has a history of doing but then say "Oh well she doesn't worry and we don't have to worry about people who will never vote for her".

But something tells me nothing anyone says will convince you and you'll continue just believing Hillary is awesome and that everyone feels that way and she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want. Let me know how that works out for you.

[Cary]

47. Maybe she doesn't agree with you?

I know I don't.

[vi5]

48. About which part?

You're the one saying she "doesn't need haters" who are never going to vote for her no matter what she does. A fair enough point. I'm just wondering if that applies to liberal haters or Republican haters as well?

[Cary]

49. About ideological purity and what Hillary Clinton is about

About reality and what it takes to get things done.

Is she perfect? No. No one is perfect. But is she trying to appeal to Republicans? Absolutely not.

[bettyellen]

52. She got Dems 2::1 over Sanders, that's how it worked out for her.

[Mass]

6. This poll is crap. Most Sanders supporters will vote for Clinton

Shame on the Guardian to publish this as meaningful.

[JoePhilly]

12. YUP ... it tells us who Guardian readers would vote for.

[Mass]

14. and not even. Those who bothered answering

which are most likely those who were angry at the endorsement.

[JoePhilly]

15. Good point.

[Peigan68]

8. Good riddance

I think that any so-called progressive who supported Sanders in the primary who now says they are voting for Trump in the general were never really a progressive in the first place.

And I predict that the Jill Stein vote will go way down before November and in the end she won't get much of anything.

[Vote2016]

9. A good VP pick and a good convention will fix this.

[seabeyond]

10. And we are being told that we are not allowed to say anything negative toward Stein. Lol. Ya, no. Nt

[JoePhilly]

13. You should put this part in BOLD.

These results aren’t necessarily a representative sample, and they differ significantly from a Pew Research Center poll released Wednesday, which found that 85% of Sanders supporters intended to vote for Clinton.

[seabeyond]

16. "results aren’t necessarily a representative sample" ya know, kinda relevant. Nt

[BlueMTexpat]

18. This is Not a good sample to base your

opinion on. This is the Guardian - a UK newspaper - that asked self-described Sanders supporters to write in and describe whom they would support.

I would bet that a number of these "Sanders supporters" aren't even US citizens and thus not eligible to vote in US elections.

Those Sanders supporters whom I know and who are Democrats all opted to support Hillary Clinton much earlier than yesterday's endorsement and the overwhelming majority did so enthusiastically. Those Sanders supporters I know who are not Dems still overwhelmingly prefer Hillary to any other candidate.

I would say that my anecdotal experience is at least as valid as this poll. At least, I know that my responders are all eligible to vote in the US Presidential election

[BlueNoMatterWho]

20. Yep, bad sampling.

[hobbit709]

21. then explain this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512251373

[rbrnmw]

22. there will be many indies and repubs

voting for Hillary The media will try to steer the narrative but in the end people will not vote for Trump because he is insane.

[DanTex]

23. LOL. Are we really back to the clickbait polls? I thought people would learn...

[LostOne4Ever]

25. I will be following Bernie's Endorsement of Clinton. nt

[mcar]

42. This!

I believe that most Bernie supporters feel the same way.

[lapucelle]

26. Isn't The Guardian a UK newspaper?

Are the people who responded even eligible to vote in the US?

[yellowcanine]

27. 375 self selected Bernie supporters? Yeah that is relevant.

[demwing]

28. anyone who claims that they were a Sanders supporter

but will now vote for Trump is not being honest. They are either punking the poll, or they were never REALLY a Sanders supporter.

We've all heard how Bernie talks about Trump. How the hell do you move to Trump?

[Andy823]

35. I agree

While their might be a few "real" Sanders supporters who don't vote for Hillary, the vast majority will. Many of those who take these polls are simply TROLLS, either right wing trolls or Trump trolls. Same with all those on other sites that encourage voting for Trump or Stein, they never were, and ever will, be voting for any Democrat. They are pulling a con job, pure and simple.

[Blue_Adept]

29. 171 for stein until they realize she's not even on the ballot in their state

[yellowcanine]

58. Particularly since their "state" might be England - or who knows.

Guardian internet poll.

[Else You Are Mad]

30. It is media's best interest...

To stir up controversy by publishing things like this. This is why no matter what the polls actually say come late October, most media -- and all MSM -- will say that it will be too close to call between Clinton and Trump. This is because too close to call stories bring better ratings and also makes campaigns and PACs spend more money on ads. If they were to report a landslide by either candidate, no one will watch and ratings will drop and the campaigns / PACs will not spend money.

It is all a scam -- especially these bogus surveys.

[merrily]

32. The three options that make me want to hurl most are: not voting, writing in ANYone or voting Trump.

[TwilightZone]

33. "We received" essentially makes the poll meaningless.

Self-selected polls don't represent reality.

[thesquanderer]

34. Meaningless, unscientific poll.

It's a poll of Guardian readers (not necessarily representative of any voting population), and then only those who chose to respond... basically the equivalent of all the internet "facebook polls" and the like that we dismiss all the time (for good reason).

[Spazito]

36. LOL, a self selecting online poll ...

which has the same credibility as a Trump speech. This is hilarious!

[zappaman]

38. LOL!!!

Bet this made the Pinebaggers day, eh?

[L. Coyote]

39. Guardian internet poll. HaHaHaHa. Sanders supporters who read Guardian. HaHaHaHa.

Trolls 177, Dems 88, Idiots 38, Guessing 15, Perplexed by easy questions 41

[NCTraveler]

40. Imagine that.

You say the allegiance is weak yet polling averages have her up. The point you make show just how solid of a position we are in right now.

Excellent use of reputable polling.

[alcibiades_mystery]

44. Stein won't top 1% of the vote in November

She will be irrelevant as usual.

[JHB]

50. All the appropriate responses that come to mind violate DU's civility rules

You're showcasing a self-selecting Internet "poll"?

[pnwmom]

51. Those who would do it were never strong Bernie supporters in the first place.

Bernie would never agree with her that, as terrible as George W. was, Obama was "Bush on steroids."

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

54. Why the surprise? The Guardian is a left wing newspaper.

Most of its readers are liberal - leftist. The idea that most would back the most liberal candidate shouldn't be at all surprising.

[MohRokTah]

55. Why are you posting an internet poll as if it has some validity?

This is bullshit. Internet polls have nothing to do with reality.

[Orsino]

56. I dislike the word "allegiance" in this context...

...but am not worrying about self-selected respondents.

[hollowdweller]

57. This poll is not my experience

I'm a Sanders supporter.

Of the people I know who also were probably 80% for Hillary, all the independents for Sanders, maybe 10% of the total to Trump and all the very new democrats, the other 10% young, either Stein or setting it out.

Some people just don't like Hillary. No matter how I try to convince them about the Supreme Court appointments and stuff they aren't budging.

I think she can win without those people though because I think a lot of republicans will cross over and vote for her. She's pro business and hawkish and they like that.