Bernie Sanders Is Making a Big Mistake

[brooklynite]

New York Times

The art of peeling off voters — those in the middle or those who aren’t ideological — may be the most important skill in politics. It doesn’t require a mushy centrist policy agenda, either. Trump has made that clear. So, in earlier eras, did Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

How? By understanding that politics is inescapably performative. Voters respond to signals. They respond to gestures of respect from politicians who are willing to say, in effect: We may not agree on everything, but I see you and understand what matters to you.

The newly energetic American left has largely rejected this approach, choosing instead to believe a comforting myth about swing voters being extinct and turnout being a cure-all. It’s a big mistake.

Before going further, I want to make clear that this is not a column urging Democrats to return to Clintonian centrism. I’m making a different case — that the left is hurting its own ability to win elections and enact sweeping change, by insisting on an orthodox version of progressivism.

To put it another way: Can you think of one way that Bernie Sanders is signaling respect to voters outside of his base?

[katmondoo]

1. I feel I am being pushed to support Bernie.

[HarlanPepper]

5. And if you don't you are not ideologically pure.

That’s the message being sent. Of course I have zero fucks to give about being ideologically pure so it’s less of a big deal to someone who doesn’t care about the “revolution” or fitting in with the “revolution.”

[MineralMan]

59. Push back.

Hard.

[Lunch Lady]

2. Bernie Sanders is a good man.

He cares about people like me. His base is the hard working families struggling to make a living. Well off people don't seem to understand this.

[brooklynite]

6. Bernie Sanders can't win with just the base. he needs moderates in the marginal suburban districts

His base doesn't seem to understand this.

[DownriverDem]

8. His base

is politically naive.

[DanieRains]

30. Naive? Really? You Mean Not Brainwashed By Corporate Media

Telling us it is impossible to have what other advanced nations have.

Bernie's message is simple.

We can have it all if we are willing to fight for it.

The $50 Trillion allied against us is gonna be tough to take on.

[Celerity]

38. 'brainwashed' is thinking he can win in the general after a billion USD of red-baiting and other

vicious adverts are dumped on him, and thus all of the Party. Not only will he lose the general, he likely will help flip the House back to the MAGAt scum.

Bernie is not running here in Sweden (where, if he tried to pull off his false self-labelling as a democratic socialist, the ACTUAL socialists, Vänsterpartiet, would laugh at him.)

[whathehell]

53. "Brainwashed" is thinking the US of the 1950's and 1960's

is still alive thirty years after the Cold War ended.

Studies repeatedly show that Socialism is NOT the big bugaboo here It once was, especially for those 50 and younger.

[PufPuf23]

9. Sander's base does apparently know how to GOTV to win the popular vote

in the first three primary states and is now favored by pollsters to project for at least a plurality of votes going into the convention. Sanders also projects to have more independent nd crossover votes than any current Democratic POTUS candidate.

Sander's base seems to have something lacking in the base of other Democratic candidates.

Hope the Party leadership adjusts to this reality.

[brooklynite]

10. They let other people besides Democrats vote in the General Election...

...speaking of which, where are all the NEW voters that the Sanders campaign claims want to support him?

[PufPuf23]

11. You realize that you make absolutely zero sense?

Try comparing the Sander's campaign to that of Buttigieg (or that of other candidates).

Sanders has more crossover appeal than any other Democratic candidate and also brings out more younger and first time voters compared to the other Democratic candidates.

I know it must be troubling to not have what you want and assumed would occur in the primaries.

BTW I favor Warren but Sanders is fine to me as well.

[brooklynite]

12. I've never compared Sanders to Buttigieg...

...and I'll happily drop Pete if a better candidate comes along (I dropped Hickenlooper last Spring).

Doesn't mean I don't see the huge risks in a Sanders campaign. And again, his performance in the Democratic Primary says nothing about his ability to win the General Election.

[boston bean]

58. In caucuses.

[Tom Rinaldo]

15. And moderates need Bernie's base to win the Presidency at least as much

Sometimes it seems like "Moderates" think that they "own" the votes of progressives, as they keep mining the shrinking center for support by trying harder to appeal to it rather than the vast sea of people who are disillusioned with "politicians" who don't seem to be fighting hard enough for them.

For the record I will "Vote Blue No Matter Who"

[Demsrule86]

19. Not this year...because you won't get Sander's base...some are GOP who will abandon him in the

primary and no matter what, there are not enough of them. a centrist could win three state that we must have MI, WI, PA...biden or Bloomberg could win Florida or maybe even Ohio, but Sanders won't win any of those states...so we are heading for an EC loss if he is the candidate.

[Mad cow]

29. Sanders won the primaries in WI and MI in 2016

So I think the angst about his performance in those two states is overstated. If everyone thought Clinton could win them in 2016, then why not Sanders in 2020, as they both preferred him in the primary.

[Demsrule86]

31. A primary is not a general election...different voters. I wish it was different.

[Alliepoo]

32. I live in rust belt ohio

And you are absolutely correct.

[TwilightZone]

33. Primaries and general elections are nothing alike.

And the former doesn't predict success in the latter.

Trump dominated his opponents in NY state in 2016. Did he win it in the GE?

[True Blue American]

57. Sherrod Brown

Would bring Ohio to Joe. He should have been chosen on 2004.

[whathehell]

54. Correct. The moderates don't "own" the party

and for the record, I will also "vote blue no matter who"

[we can do it]

7. Doesn't help much if we are stuck with 4more years of dump.

Kiss your safety net good bye.

[Happy Hoosier]

48. He is a good man. And a bad politician.

He tells you what you want to hear, with no real plan on how to deliver it. And worse, he pokes other people in the eye he really needs to make his plans work.

[Cha]

49. I'm not "well" off and I don't want him for our

nom.

[xmas74]

60. In my neck of the woods that isn't his base.

Around here his base is mostly students or college educated entry-level. The "working class" Dems seem to like Biden with quite a few asking questions about Bloomberg. The people who really follow politics around me like Warren. The military seems to be turning away from Trump and are looking at Buttigieg because they identify with his service.

[Nanjeanne]

3. So Bernie if proving this writer wrong I guess by being the 2nd choice of Biden voters.

[brooklynite]

13. This writer is referring to the General Election voters.

[Nanjeanne]

14. Oh sorry. I misunderstood. So he's basing it on nothing since Bernie does very well with

independents (who pundits used to tell us we needed to win generals) and Bernie is also beating Trump in polls more consistently than the other candidates . . . but it's Bernie who is Making a Mistake. To me it's the writer making the mistake.

But that's what elections are all about. And free speech - so he can write it!

[Demsrule86]

20. He only does well with left leaning independents...the moderate independents will stay home or

vote for Trump...and we will lose the general.

[brooklynite]

21. I disregard all head to head polls for the GE...and you should too

We haven't started the GE and our nominee hasn't been the target of Republican oppo.

[Nanjeanne]

24. Right - thanks for the advice.

[unblock]

4. wtf? can you think of one way that *donnie* is signalling respect to voters outside of his base?

how is it that donnie can disrespect 87% of america and that's ok, but democrats need to be constantly bashed no matter what electoral strategy we try?

[not_the_one]

23. What unblock said...

Democrats, for the last several decades, and in our eagerness to win, have interpreted that far-rightward shift of the republicans (thereby moving the center to the right), as the new political borders.

Our desire to be a party that responds to EVERYONE, not just democrats, causes us to float further and further right. We once again take the "big tent" to its ridiculous extremes (i.e. accepting DINOs), moving closer to the (new) center, in effect, moving further right ourselves. It is a win/win for the republicans and a lose/lose for democrats. We now have democrats taking stands that are antithetical to our core beliefs, because "that is the only way a democrat will get elected in a bright red district".

Republicans have jumped enthusiastically into the abyss of extreme right wing rhetoric, anti-labor policies, anti-women policies, anti-anything "other" policies. The turd REVELS in it. It is red meat to his base of bigots, haters and so-called christians.

Yet if a democrat tries to take the smallest step to continue to "progress" towards our goal of inclusiveness (an inclusiveness that does NOT include bigots, haters and anti-science christians), we are raging libtards who have lost touch with America.

We HAVE to control OUR narrative, and not let the media shape it for us. THEY (and the republicans) are the ones painting us as "raging progressives", marching towards total socialism.

We have to stop allowing them to do that.

I place the blame for that, squarely, at the feet of the (dare I say it?) democratic establishment. It has taken decades to get to this point, and they have been running the show the entire time.

Bloomberg, Steyers, Buffet, Soros, Bezos, Gates, WTF ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? Are you afraid of the Kochs, Adelson, Mercer, Thiel? You have the means, WE don't. INFORMATION is power.

THEY control a majority of the information. Where the fuck are you?

[Moderateguy]

36. You cannot ask a bunch of billionaires to help you

and then tell them that you’re going to tax them to the grills to pay for your promises. You have to pick one

[Blaukraut]

16. If he wins the nomination, he'll broaden his appeal, imo

His base won't be angry at him, either. They support him unconditionally. I know people bristle at Sanders-Trump comparisons. But in this aspect, they are apt. Both have base support that borders on cult worship. Just like Trump could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any support, Sanders could soften his stances to appeal to less ideological voters and his base would stick with him.

However: The difference is that Sanders is pretty much a man of principle, so it's also possible that he might not be willing, or able, to reach out to more moderate Democrats. Trump, otoh...well, we all know what HE is like.

[Aaron Pereira]

17. Experts say we need to move right to attract Indys. Sanders is winning them by the largest margin.

Sanders Crushes Trump by 18 Points Among Independent Voters in New National General Election Poll

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/11/sanders-crushes-trump-18-points-among-independent-voters-new-national-general

He's winning them not by shifting to more moderate positions but by convincing them he will govern in the public interest. Somehow politicians on our side have persuaded themselves being moderate and attracting moderate voters means compliance with lobbyist written legislation and governing according with Washington consensus. Sanders is proving we've misunderstood the motives of a large portion of those independent voters.

[Blue_Tires]

18. That's nothing new, he's made a ton of mistakes

you'd think he'd hire better people this time around, but his current rogues gallery isn't even fit for a city council race...

What I find most amusing is Sanders and his people can insult Obama, Hillary, Pelosi, Perez, etc. for four straight years, they can call lifelong Dem volunteers like myself "establishment neocons", and openly say they're going to purge the party of moderates and then have the unmitigated gall to wonder why I'm not enthusiastically jumping on the bandwagon...

[thesquanderer]

22. Worth noting, it's not the position of the New York Times, it's an op-ed. (n/t)

[Ron Green]

25. He's doing 2 things that are compelling and important:

1. He’s talking about worker-directed enterprises and co-ops, which are a necessary way forward and about which I’ve not heard other candidates speak; and
2. He’s telling more basic truth about our entire American system. While no politician can tell the whole truth (read Zinn and Chomsky, for example), Bernie comes closer than others.

[samnsara]

26. no body can push me to support bs....

[msongs]

27. you must love bernie. not just vote for Him love Him. always captalize the H's pls nt

[DanieRains]

28. Easy One - By Telling The Truth

The 1% is robbing everyone, and have all the power.
Bernie fights for the little guy. Like $15 minimum wage.

I am tired of billionaires spoon feeding me what I should think about everything while the ice melts, and our nation burns / floods.

We are an Oligarchy.

Time to deal with it.

[Moderateguy]

37. Well then don't be surprised if the billionaires and corporations fight back....

[Gothmog]

34. Sanders still won't be honest with the American people about how much his plans cost

Link to tweet

[Laelth]

46. Democratic voters don't seem to care.

They're just happy that some politician is willing to fight for what they think they deserve ... cost be damned.

-Laelth

[Det87]

35. Of course

Hmm. I was wondering, how left or establishment the "Democratic Underground" is, and yeah, I guess it makes total sense, it's not an underground at all, it's mostly the normal establishment backers to whom reaching across the isle and conceding before the argument is going to gather Republican votes in 2020.

It's not like we tried that 2009-2016.

[Rhiannon12866]

40. DU Terms of Service states that all views across the Democratic political spectrum are welcome

Feelings are running a little high just now since it's primary season and everyone has their favorites. The Core Principles should answer your question and welcome to DU.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice

[TwilightZone]

44. The "Underground" part was in response to George W. Bush winning in 2000.

DU was founded the day he was inaugurated.

[Laelth]

47. We've gotten older.

In 2001, when DU started out, it was radical (compared to the Democratic Party as a whole). When I joined in 2004, DU was considerably more liberal than the party as a whole. These days, we're kind-of moderate. We have mostly stayed the same, truth be told. It's the party that has changed, and that's why I am so proud of it. At this point, the Democratic Party is far more liberal than it was when DU was founded in 2001.

-Laelth

[Cha]

39. No.

[whathehell]

55. Yes.

[Dem2]

41. I generally agree with this analysis

It's disappointing that only a couple of the Democratic candidates seem to have a sense of this approach to electability.

[Awsi Dooger]

42. It's not a mistake...it is mind boggling stupidity

From the Times article,"choosing instead to believe a comforting myth about swing voters being extinct and turnout being a cure-all."

I have zero respect for anyone who believes in turnout. Every time Sanders leads off with it I have to laugh at how the hell we ever got here. He's actually brainwashed his supporters to believe it and we've got geniuses here desperately linking to a simpleton like Rachel Bitecofer.

I don't mind using terms like stupidity and simpleton. They fit. The terms are overly tame.

Half of the respondents in the New Hampshire primary exit poll said Bernie Sanders was too liberal. That's in a Democratic primary. It was the single most underreported number from that primary. It's the single most underreported number from this campaign too date. On election night 2018 I immediately posted the Florida exit poll with 46% saying Andrew Gillum was too liberal for the state, with a warning that there are always tip offs in the midterm toward the presidential year.

It was so sad tonight to hear Amy Klobuchar emphasizing one electoral truth after another but so many ignorant types in group dismissal.

[greenjar_01]

43. Posting opinions without adding your own take is not a good look

Stand up for your damn position for goodness sake.

[whathehell]

56. Neither is calling all democrats who don't agree with you

"mind bogglingly stupid". Just sayin'.

[greenjar_01]

61. Who said that?

[whathehell]

62. Lol.

Look one post above yours in the thread.

[greenjar_01]

63. Ah

So did you reply to the wrong post?

I don't get it.

[whathehell]

64. I may have

due to the fact that the poster supports the same candidate as you and his/her post was right aove yours.

[greenjar_01]

65. Oh

OK.

[Laelth]

45. Who wrote this drivel?

Tell me who I need to be avoiding when reading the Times because this excerpt is really weak sauce.

-Laelth

[Meowmee]

50. He is the worst possible candidate

That could be run, for numerous terrible reasons, he has no way to win no matter what he does. His recent behavior and statements are making it even more painfully obvious than it has alteady been. And it is not clear where the primary support is really coming from with help from Putin and open primaries where unaffiliated (15%) of whom in NH said they will not vote dem in the general.

[guillaumeb]

51. Reagan and Trump appealled to racists.

And racists make up a significant segment of the electorate.

Trump also appealed to workers who know that the system does not work for workers. Sanders can have that same appeal.

[ehrnst]

52. K&R