Democrats, stop freaking out about Bernie Sanders

[applegrove]

Democrats, stop freaking out about Bernie Sanders

By Paul Waldman, Opinion writer, The Plumb Line, Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/24/democrats-stop-freaking-out-about-bernie-sanders/?utm_source=reddit.com

"SNIP......


And if Americans will inevitably turn against Sanders in favor of Trump, it hasn’t happened yet; nearly every poll that matches the two against one another shows Sanders winning, though the same is true of all the contending Democrats.

Does that mean Sanders isn’t vulnerable to attacks on his policy proposals or his more unusual statements on things like the virtues of the Soviet system? Absolutely not. But we don’t yet know whether those attacks will only resonate with Republicans who were never going to vote for him anyway.

Sanders has a theory about how to win, which is that his economic populism will appeal to many voters who are not necessarily friendly to other Democrats, while he’ll change the makeup of the electorate by bringing in large numbers of people who haven’t been regular voters in the past. Can he do that? The only real answer is: We don’t know. It certainly won’t be easy, but it’s possible.

And given that high turnout among Republican voters is all but baked in, you certainly want a Democratic nominee who can drive a similarly high turnout among Democrats. Is that Sanders, more than other candidates? Again, we can’t yet say for sure.

......SNIP"

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. I freak out when someone tells me not to freak out.

Just sayin'...

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

3. That freaks me out!!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together & can't be bought!!
Jump on the Bernie Bandwagon & join The Revolution!!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

2. Get used to hearing my two favorite words... President Sanders!!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together & can't be bought!!
Jump on the Bernie Bandwagon & join The Revolution!!

[uponit7771]

4. Sanders has no historical swing state appeal outside of MOE, Biden has the most so if those changed

... in the next 3 months then I"d be exited.

Facts matter, Sanders doesn't have them behind his candidacy

[evertonfc]

5. solid points

but I don't worry about turnout this cycle. Any of our candidates will get turnout. Bernie has advantages, Biden has advantages. National polls mean nothing. Our candidate will get more votes. It's the EC. We have to put FL, NC, AZ back in play. Hell, NH will be close too.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. "change the makeup of the electorate"

"change the makeup of the electorate by bringing in large numbers of people who haven’t been regular voters in the past."

Um, I doubt that. If this groups enters the fray it will be to defeat Trump, which is to say many of them will vote for any Dem nominee. Bernie risks having not only the GOP and Trump line up against him, but also the MSM and their backers, Wall Street. Obama reassured them with policy advisors from the big investment banks and mainstream Democratic circles. Bernie cannot expect the same pass with advisors from Marxist economic departments counseling socialism, anti-corporatism, and class struggle.