Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign megathread v2 (pg 77 - declares victory in Iowa)

[Statilius the Epicurean]

He's right

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Before it gets tossed about further in this thread:

Communism is not merely the elimination of '"duh billionayhs", nor even of the bourgeoisie (a rather more specific thing) but is rather the abolition of Capital , a social relation perpetuated by the value form inherent in production for exchange (contra use); the class struggle is really a struggle against the logic of the capitalist mode of production, which reproduces the bourgeoisie almost as an afterthought (and who are non-essential to its function). Communis manifests as a movement of the working-class, completely outside of the bourgeois Democratic process.

A wealth tax which redistributes wealth perpetuates wealth, and would redistribute it simply to create a bunch of little embryonic capitalists. Accordingly, a wealth tax is a capitalist project. There is infinitely more of Huey Long than of Karl Marx in this, because there is no Marx in it at all. And there is more of Communism in a worker taking a five minute longer break than is permitted than in this policy.

Good thing Sanders isn't a dumb communist then.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

For the question of what Bernie needs to do, here is my opinion as someone who had a very high opinion of him until 2015-16, but became disenchanted:

3. The only image I have of Bernie is of him hunched over a podium with looking angry and deshevled. It's very on-brand, but it can be off-putting for an undecided voter watching a debate. I don't think he needs to stop being a firebrand or comb his hair - far from it. I think we need to see what makes him laugh, though, and maybe see him not in a suit a couple of times. Maybe he can do some kind of Vermont campfire townhall where he wears flannel and tells a bunch of stories about his misadventures over the years and talks about his family.

Bernie is notoriously uncomfortable talking about his personal life. I wonder if he thinks it is a gimmick and that politics should just be about the issues. I think this is a great tip for his campaign but he won't do it.

Probably doesn’t want to talk about being a deadbeat father, who stole electricity and cable from his neighbors, lived on a commune and didn’t contribute, and being this radical social justice warrior who ran to white Vermont and didn’t vote until he was 40 (for himself).

Moving to Vermont is problematic now?

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Personally, I have no issues with anything in Bernie's letter to Thatcher. If anything, the only negative I would point out is that it is yet again another issue where Bernie takes a stand, makes some symbolic gesture, and ends up achieving nothing. Unlike criminal neoliberal corporatist warmongerer Bill Clinton, who later helped to organize the Good Friday agreement and now has a statue in his honor in Belfast.

I agree, it's a knock on Bernie that as Mayor of Burlington he didn't bring peace to Northern Ireland.

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lol.  most of this ad is pretty effective, but I'm not sure how well "queer liberation" plays in an Iowa or South Carolina primary much less a general election.

https://twitter.com/jneeley78/status/1196098116031791107?s=20

The Bernie campaign is embracing a very AOC rhetoric.

Bernie campaign leaning on AOC is not a good strategy for primary states where the electorate is old people. I could see this working in SC and NV but IA and NH seem like places where AOC is... not incredibly popular, even among Democrats.

Bernie doesn't have to win over conservative olds. If he consolidates the progressive vote and gets 30% in Iowa and NH he probably comes first.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

I think there’s no getting around the fact that Sanders does have a tendency to be show horse in ways that definitely undermine the Democratic Party.  Being a team player and working with enemy factions to achieve a common goal does not come naturally to him; he’s most in his element when he’s denouncing a powerful institution (as opposed to, say, enacting legislation or talking about something positive).  

How does this claim square with Sanders' impeccable role on the Senate Democratic caucus leadership team? Has he hindered the Democratic party in any real way in the Senate?

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The phrase "wage slavery" has a long history in the labor movement, especially in the radical wing — might seem like an offensive comparison now, but it was a common phrase among union leaders at the time. Odd that this context wasn't included in the article...

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Or maybe Southern voters are just more conservative. I don't think Bernie's problem there is a lack of "authenticity".
 

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Unlike you, I don't take this message board seriously enough to be that methodical. Seriously, I don't want to tell them to stop because I don't know if the person behind the messages is one of the more unhinged people who will go off and start sending insults or threats. Anyone can sign up to do texts, so you don't really know who is texting you.

Are you seriously this delusional? Is this where the Bernie Bro discourse is at now?

[Statilius the Epicurean]

To say that Wallace was "sensitive to what people feel they need" makes no sense when you consider that Wallace was a segregationist who only cared about what some of the people in his state needed. Sanders was giving him praise for his ability to build a base.

Wallace had disavowed segregation in 1972.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Comments like this about George Wallace would be a deal breaker for a lot of voters, especially with massive troll bot campaigns targeting black voters in key places.

What did Joe Biden say about segregationist Senators again? Maybe Democrats should nominate someone else in case that suppresses the black vote.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Comments like this about George Wallace would be a deal breaker for a lot of voters, especially with massive troll bot campaigns targeting black voters in key places.

What did Joe Biden say about segregationist Senators again? Maybe Democrats should nominate someone else in case that suppresses the black vote.

I've made in clear months ago that I didn't like those comments, but Biden can line up far more prominent black surrogates to mitigate that problem. He was VP to the first black President and that alone gets him more trust with black voters despite what he has said in the past.

https://twitter.com/NYforSanders/status/1223037198968205319?s=20

[Statilius the Epicurean]

😂 at someone with the username IMPEACHMENT ENQUIRY who wouldn't vote for Sanders against the president they believe should literally be removed from office and imprisoned for criminal conduct. The Bernie Bros on the internet are really that annoying.

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Is Tlaib going to sit on stage and ask strangers to boo Joe Manchin

Yes, hopefully.

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And the Bernie Sanders closing argument is to get a man who proudly voted for Jill Stein

Er, why do you say this as if it's a bad thing? The Democrats lose if they don't win over any 2016 third party voters...

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Today feels way too pro-Bernie to be feel real. Like h**ly sh**t, he might actually just blow this thing open as long as he doesn't lose NH or win very narrowly and be well on his way to at least a plurality of delegates. Sanders has slid under the radar and at Warren's height, it seemed his campaign was finished. Yet something changed when he had a heart attack. It was one of those pivotal sink or swim moments. Either things turn around for him or things sink, and the former happened. AOC and Omar and Tilab all endorsing him combined with Warren not handling frontrunner scrutiny allowed Sanders to consolidate the progressive vote and peak at the right time. Combined with Biden floundering and overall a so far inability to consolidate the anti-Sanders vote, it feels like the stars are aligning for him. It's not a done deal for Sanders by any stretch of imagination. If Biden wins SC, he still has momentum headed into ST, and there's uncertainty at how much of a factor Bloomberg could be (though a case could be made he's Sanders's biggest competition at this point which is shows how well things are going for him more than anything else IMO). Of course, Buttigeg could win NH, and send this race to pure chaos and in a few weeks I could be on the Biden train in desperation to stop Buttigeg.

The real test will be how Bernie holds up when the anti-Sanders vote does consolidate around someone.  That will happen eventually simply b/c of how afraid of him the establishment is and I've yet to see any evidence that Bernie can win when that happens.

I'm honestly sceptical that there is an "anti-Sanders" vote out there that will coalesce somehow. Sanders has the highest favourability and the largest % of voters who are considering him out of the entire field. Dem primary voters like Bernie, they might worry he's too old or how he's going to get his agenda passed but there isn't a significant constituency who will jump on a stop Sanders bandwagon purely in order to deny him the nomination. The moderate vote will only coalesce if another candidate (Biden, Bloomberg, Buttigieg etc.) can gain some momentum and put together a successful campaign on their own merits. Sanders is favoured right now because that doesn't seem to be on the horizon before he can put together a string of victories up to Super Tuesday, which by then it could be too late.

If Bernie comes out of Super Tuesday with a clear lead in delegates I don't see the moderate wing going "Holy sh**t, we have to throw our support to Bloomberg now or this maniac is our nominee!" Plenty of moderate Dems will probably go "Bernie's not my preferred candidate, but I can live with him if the alternative is a drawn-out primary battle ending in a contested convention." Much like what happened with Trump in 2016.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Finally something Republicans and Democrats agree on

https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1227418964373975040?s=20

[Statilius the Epicurean]

Bernie should be biting his nails. He lost Iowa to a gay mayor who no one had even heard about a year ago. He came shockingly close to losing NH to said Mayor had it not been for Amy Klobuchar who managed to hold Buttiegeg off enough. Let's be real Bernie didn't win NH as much as he should have. Now he has to face off in NV and SC where the enviorment is more friendly to Biden. And if he does make it past, a man named Mike Bloomberg will be waiting for him on Super Tuesday.

Winning is the new losing!