Worrying about Sanders Supporters Voting for Biden Is a Waste of Time

[MineralMan]

They will or they won't, as each individually decides what to do. If, as most of us expect, Joe Biden becomes the nominee, then his campaign will target all Americans, not any one group. It will seek votes from everyone who thinks that Donald J. Trump is a poor excuse for a chief executive, and that it was a mistake for him to have been elected.

Joe Biden will do a better job than Donald Trump, across the board, so his appeal will reach farther than almost anyone who might have been the nominee.

He will be far more appealing to many voters than Bernie Sanders could ever be. Some of those who will vote for Biden even voted for Trump in 2016, but regret that choice now. Biden doesn't scare such people off. Bernie Sanders does.

Some Sanders supporters, like Bernie Sanders himself, are not actually Democrats. Many consider themselves to be something else that is more "progressive" or "socialistic." Some of those may well not vote for Joe Biden. Many will simply not vote at all.

Those diehard supporters of Bernie Sanders will be more than offset by people many of us don't even think about, but who will vote for Biden because he is a sensible, likable candidate. They're not particularly ideological people. They vote in ways that sometimes don't make any sense, and a bunch of them voted for Trump for reasons we don't understand.

Trump has finally frightened many people, who would never consider voting for him again. Those people will vote for Joe Biden, but they might not vote for Bernie Sanders.

Biden can, and will, win in November. Bernie Sanders would not win in November. He frightens people. Joe doesn't.

Biden 2020!

[LexVegas]

1. I'm not worried at all. nt

[MineralMan]

2. Yeah, me neither.

That's why I wrote the post.

[NurseJackie]

3. If they won't, they won't and it's a waste of time to try and convince them otherwise.

hey will or they won't, as each individually decides what to do

Best to use that time and money and human capital to get dozens of NEW voters, and first time voters, and previously disinterested voters. We just don't have time to coddle, validate and flatter the "Sarandon wing" of the Bernie followers or anyone else with egos big enough that they have the nerve to demand special treatment.

[MineralMan]

5. Exactly. Why should we waste our time?

Instead, there are many people who will vote for Joe Biden with just a little encouragement. Many have already decided they will never vote for Trump. They just need a nudge to cast their vote for Joe Biden. That's where our energies should go.

Disgruntled Sanders supporters can just be disgruntled, or they can vote for Biden. Our arguments won't change their minds, as we learned in another election. So, let's focus on people who can be convinced instead.

[mjvpi]

13. My worry is that the new voters that we should go out and get

Are the very young, idealist voters that Sanders has inspired to get involved. Sanders is bringing the most people into the Democratic Party. Statistically he is dominating Biden among young voters. It is inspiring for people like AOC to be talking unity. Sanders has already stated that he will support Biden if that is what happens at the convention. Most of Sanders voters are life long Democrats. 75,000 voters tipped the Electoral College. Vitriol will cause first time, idealistic voters to just disengage and stay home if their hero not only looses the election but the campaign is pilloried and it gets personal. Biden is not inspiring new people to flock into the Democratic Party. He is fighting for the middle with his main message being that he can beat Trump. Biden supporters need to please keep that in mind when they feel the need to attack. I enjoy reading your posts and I in no way mean this as personal attack on you. This is going to be a tighter race than people think. Unity will be a two way street.

[MineralMan]

18. Those young, idealistic voters did not show up for Bernie in the numbers

he expected, either. Why would we think they'll show up in November. We should welcome them to come and vote for Joe and tell them what Joe will do. Then, let them decide whether to vote or not.

But, remember, they didn't come out for Bernie, either. Turnout in that group was low.

[mjvpi]

20. My point is, how many young people turned out for Biden?

75,000 people decided the last election. Sanders dominated that demographic. I’m just saying that it is much more strategic to actively try and keep them. That is an attitude that supporters should be conscious of. There is no good reason that we shouldn’t win big, but there is no good reason Trump should have won in the first place. It’s up to each of us to keep as many people in the big tent as possible.

[MineralMan]

23. I don't know, of course.

Do you?

[MineralMan]

24. You know, we could talk about those 75,000 voters.

We could, but we won't. Whenever they come up, people get all upset about the discussion.

I know who they were. You know who they were. I doubt you really want to talk about that, though.

They won't vote for Joe Biden, any more than they voted for Hillary Clinton.

I'm not going to waste any time on that group at all. They are not our friends.

[showblue22]

38. Hillary bent over backward to bring in Sanders supporters.

She included their ideas into her platform, reached out to them so they could feel included as much as possible but nothing made them happy. Joe should talk to young people, reach out to them in the general public but without the Bernie campaign.

[NurseJackie]

19. He's winning.

Biden is not inspiring new people to flock into the Democratic Party.

He's winning.

Biden supporters need to please keep that in mind when they feel the need to attack.

You had me going there for a minute... and then I read that zinger. Charming.

I in no way mean this as personal attack on you.

I don't take it that way. But I do see what you did.

Unity will be a two way street.

This is not Youth Soccer where everyone gets a trophy for participating.

[mjvpi]

21. You're correct. Not youth Soccer.

This could be the future of Democracy. If Biden supporters are more concerned with their hurt feelings in the primary than unifying with the progressive wing of the party, we have real problems. This is going to be a two way street to bring this together.

[MineralMan]

31. That's funny, right there. I don't care who you are.

So, Biden supporters are not interested in unifying the party?

Maybe you need to pick a candidate at this time. There are only two left. It should be an easy choice for you. I suggest you choose Joe Biden. That's the winning pick, really.

[johnthewoodworker]

35. I was for Warren. Now leaning towards Sanders. Will vote for any democrat in the GE.

I am startled by the animosity I note in the tone of some of thew Biden supporters. It is also evident in some of the Sanders supporters .
It seems counter productive to alienate supporters for either candidate as we don't yet know the winner. Support your candidate in a positive manner and don't denigrate those who support the other. Lets make it easier for everyone to support our eventual nominee.No one likes to be belittled, so lets not do it.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

45. I donated to Warren, now I'm with Joe.

Joe isn't running against the Democratic party. BS is.

Joe isn't advocating a destructive revolution. BS is.

Joe is running to heal the nation. BS is running to disrupt.

Clyburn lit a fire and many saw the light. We can unite with Biden or fractionate with BS.

[johnthewoodworker]

47. So if I support Bernie I am supporting a destructive revolution, that is looking to

disrupt the nation, and destroy the democratic party. Boy, I guess I am a bad person if I vote for Bernie. That's the message I just received. Thanks for the input.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

55. Those are the messages straight from Bernie himself.

[justie18]

32. Exactly!

Sarandon, Nina Turner wing!

[Kahuna7]

4. That's exactly how I feel. They will or they won't. Their futures

are at stake.

[William769]

6. I haven't given it a thought at all.

Democrats will vote in November for the Democratic nominee.

[abqtommy]

7. Looks like I finally made up my mind!

[MineralMan]

8. Excellent!

[Pacifist Patriot]

9. Indeed. I've already had double digit 2016 Trump voters tell me they are voting for Biden.

Why?

"He doesn't scare me."

I get it. I'll take it. Welcome back.

[MineralMan]

10. It's an election. We need to embrace such voters and welcome them.

We don't have to agree with their positions on anything, but if they'll vote for Joe, they're our friends, to be frank.

[Pacifist Patriot]

40. Precisely

[calimary]

58. Hey, what's the old saying -

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”?

No argument from me. Besides, a gift horse is usually quite beautiful!

[Qutzupalotl]

11. I agree that Biden will win in November,

probably bigly. Getting Sanders and Warren supporters on board can only make that victory bigger, but it’s a question of scale. From what I’ve seen, the youth turnout was not huge as expected. Quelling the sniping online could have positive effects on morale and turnout this fall.

As you can tell, I want to crush, stomp and completely embarrass the neonazis, to send them scurrying back into their holes so they stop poisoning our public discourse. A big victory — the biggest possible — will do that. Joe winning is most of the battle, that’s true. But flipping as many red states as possible, that may require all hands on deck.

A nod to progressive goals, as Biden is already doing with the $15 minimum wage, will only help. In fact, that might be enough — we’ll see.

[MineralMan]

12. Joe Biden IS a progressive. He's just not a wild-eyed progressive.

People don't recognize that yet, but they should. No, he's not going to suddenly make college free or give everyone free healthcare. Nobody is going to do those things, and never could have done them. That stuff will never get through Congress. What he will do is reverse Trump's disastrous term in office and set progressive goals in motion.

Expecting anyone to do more than that ignores reality altogether.

We had a severe setback in 2016. Job One is fixing that. Job Two is getting started on moving forward.

[emmaverybo]

27. [phone]

[mjvpi]

16. Nicely said. Democratic unity will be a two way street. There is need to be nice in the big tent.

[mjvpi]

22. Thank you

[totodeinhere]

14. AOC just said that she would vote for whoever the nominee is.

Having a prominent Bernie supporter make that declaration is helpful.

[MineralMan]

15. Yes. I was glad to see that. She recognizes that winning is

the only thing that matters. Maybe there's hope for her future in politics. National politics is very, very different from House district politics. I hope she's learning well, so she can be a growing force in the Democratic Party. Her time will be after I'm dead and gone, if it comes at all, but she needs to learn how a presidential race must work if it's going to succeed.

[pampango]

46. As has Bernie. And AOC's statement is indeed helpful. nt

[Wellstone ruled]

17. Just like 16'

we worried about similiar voting patterns. Biden will win,and those who are single issue voters will be lost once again and this time if we do not take the Senate and the Oval,well those single issue folks will get smacked just as hard as the rest of us.

Stein pulled 5% of the gross by doing a single issue which suckered that single issue crowd.

[MineralMan]

25. Well, I think the disgruntled, disappointed Trump voters

will help us carry the day. We should encourage them politely, I think.

As for the Stein voters, they can go wherever they go. They blew it in 2016, and I don't expect much from them this year, either.

They won't vote for Joe Biden, though. They just won't.

[Wellstone ruled]

44. They seemed to be just totally

uninformed creatures easily swayed to any cause no matter what.

[beachbumbob]

26. if sanders supporters don;t care about any liberal issue or democratic issue let them allow trump

to reelected. They will the outcome again. and they will pay the deepest price for it

I really don;t care if they get it or not as the outcome will GET THEM

[Thekaspervote]

28. It is a waste of time. You can change their minds.. they've made that abundantly clear

[MineralMan]

29. Perhaps you meant you CAN'T change their minds?

[Gore1FL]

30. Should have stopped after the first two paragraphs

You made a good unifying point.

Then you decided to turn it into a divisive "Hurrah my candidate and fuck the other guy" post filled with primary talking points.

Please make up your mind.

[MineralMan]

33. Well, thank you for your suggestion about how I should have written my post.

Sorry, but I wrote it as I thought best.

So, speaking of making up minds, isn't it time for you to do that? There are only two candidates left.

[Cyrano]

36. Good post, Mineral Man

I thought that paragraphs 3 thru 7 were right on.

[Gore1FL]

61. They may or may not have been right on.

The were message-killing in either case.

[Gore1FL]

60. So cheer unity or cheer your candidate

You can't do both.

The likelihood is that Biden is going to win this. Going into pontification mode is not only unnecessary but quite off-putting.

Take my advice, don't take my advice; it's entirely up to you if you want your posts to be effective or piss people off. If you prefer them to be divisive, that's on you.

[ace3csusm]

34. Plus his a good man

[rickyhall]

37. If dump wins again we will remember those who stayed home.

[Demsrule86]

49. Those of us who survive will...those folks will have blood on their hands just as those who didn't

vote for Hillary have blood on their hands...everyone who dies of this virus is because of them. The made sure an incompetent racist POS became president. Personally I don't know how they live with themselves. And if we have to move right as a party to win without them so be it ( I would rather not)...they are unreliable.

[cab67]

39. I have one deep hope in all of this.

That, assuming Biden secures the nomination, Sanders drops out once his nomination becomes mathematically impossible.

Sanders' refusal to do so in 2016 did a lot of damage. It embittered many of his followers and instilled the false hope that he'd somehow become the nominee.

Such a decision might not cause as much damage this year - hopefully, some of his disaffected aficionados will have learned from the last election - but there's too much at stake. We can't afford any damage.

[LongtimeAZDem]

42. We'll know if and when Biden reaches 1990 whether Sanders is in it for himself or the nation

[Demsrule86]

51. If he waits that long, he is in it for himself.

[LongtimeAZDem]

53. No, as much as I hate him, I can see him staying in until mathematically eliminated

But after that, no excuses.

[Denis Enko]

41. Anyone who doesn't vote for the Democratic Nominee is a Fucking Idiot

Period.

[NCProgressive]

43. It depends upon what Sanders does

If Sanders refuses to concede and endorse Joe, keeps whining and takes it all the way to the convention to cause chaos and makes accusations of rigging, the supporters will be manipulated into a frenzy on ly to have an "I told you so" moment of their own creation.

[totodeinhere]

50. It wasn't too long ago that a lot of people were saying that even if Bernie has a plurality

of the delegates that it should go to the convention and let the delegates decide on the second ballot. But now that the shoe is on the other foot and Joe is likely to have a plurality it seems that some people don't want to take it to the convention after all. That seems like a double standard to me.

[LongtimeAZDem]

52. You know why? Because that's what Bernie demanded

As the Democratic front-runner claims that a plurality of delegates should give him the nomination, his own actions come back to haunt him.

This time, Bernie Sanders 'rigged' the system against himself

[totodeinhere]

54. As far as I know he has not changed his position on that.

I'm talking about other people who seem to have changed their position.

[LongtimeAZDem]

56. He did change his position; after 2016, he demnaded that a plurailty wasn't enough

Then, when he was in the lead, all of a sudden it was "will of the voters".

I cannot abide such hypocrisy.

[totodeinhere]

57. No I mean he has not changed his position since Super Tuesday. n/t

[LongtimeAZDem]

59. So he hasn't been hypocritical since he was hypocritical?

[pampango]

48. At Bernie-oriented sites, they say the exact opposite.

"Democrats fall in love; Republicans fall in line." It's no wonder that republicans can win even with a candidate like Trump. We love our candidate and often don't fall in line when another candidate wins the nomination.

[Hortensis]

62. :) Well, true enough of most of them but only some of us?

Last edited Sat Mar 7, 2020, 09:26 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm in love with democracy itself, not least today when it's being badly subverted and in grave danger.

Not everyone is. Millions of wildly diverse voters across the nation choosing among our options as we move toward our majority consensus: a great and reassuring exercise in sovereignty of the people or an always-disappointing oppression? Depends on how suited one's nature is to democracy, I guess. Helps to be somewhere in the liberal mainstream spectrum, no doubt. I had several good candidates I could have been satisfied with this time.

After all, in a party with 70 million voters, and the only choices those who offer themselves, the vast majority of us aren't going to be falling in love or seeing that person elected if we do and are fortunate to have other reasons to be glad to participate. We have what others peoples have been fighting and dying to gain for centuries now.

It helps big time not to misunderstand what we're supposed to be doing. Our nation actually works quite well when the leaders we choose do their jobs well. So well that when more of us did a better job of choosing for liberal values, competence, and integrity, people came from around the world to study and copy how we did it.

'What do we have, a republic or a monarchy?' Franklin replied, 'A republic, if you can keep it.'

[MineralMan]

63. That's always a danger of becoming a big fan of a primary candidate.

Often, once you become a fan, you never even look at what the other candidates are saying or at their positions. Fans simply reject other candidates outright. Then, when their candidate fails to win a spot on the general election ballot, fans sometimes can't bring themselves to vote for the one who does.

The answer is to keep up with all potential nominees and to understand where they're coming from and what they're proposing. Often, it's a lot closer to your favorite candidate than you think.

Vote Blue in 2020!