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

[Ronnie]

Just pointing out the obvious that this will never, ever happen.

[Ronnie]

https://twitter.com/NYTnickc/status/1221797847743582219

Well this is...something.

Does this remind anyone of something?

[Ronnie]

They're showing him next to pictures of Obama and FDR and describing him in ageist terms that have been excluded from the primaries by common consensus.

That's an ad cut to make primary voters think that Bernie Sanders is under attack, and the candidate whom the right fears most It's disguised to manipulate voters into liking him.

In other words, it's a redux of Claire McCaskill's strategy against Akin.  She believed he was weaker than his primary opponents, and as a result, ran an ad convincing Republican primary voters to support him by emphasizing things Republicans like (hatred of Obama, "family values", etc.).

I don't think they should be so confident that Trump will beat Sanders, unless they're sitting on some serious oppo.  We'll see, I guess.

[Ronnie]

Are we really surprised that the media would frame a potential Sanders nomination in apocalyptic terms?  Or that they’d deploy Third Way hacks to do their dirty work for them?  The lack of nuance or acknowledgement of evidence that perhaps Sanders wouldn’t be crushed by Trump is really something to behold, and should make it clear to everyone that they’ve always had it out for him.

[Ronnie]

Are we really surprised that the media would frame a potential Sanders nomination in apocalyptic terms?  Or that they’d deploy Third Way hacks to do their dirty work for them?  The lack of nuance or acknowledgement of evidence that perhaps Sanders wouldn’t be crushed by Trump is really something to behold, and should make it clear to everyone that they’ve always had it out for him.

There is plenty of nuance in these articles.  Every single one of the not-Sanders articles that have come out in the last few days has been full of cohesive arguments and damning statistics.

You guys just ignore all that and say "LOL mainstream media SCARED" or "well the guy writing it is a mainstream Democrat so of course it's all LIES."  You almost never engage with the arguments in good faith or try to demonstrate why they're wrong.

Where have we seen this behavior before?  I swear, the similarities between the Sanders movement and the Trump movement just get more and more obvious the more the Sanders campaign gains traction.

Let me put it this way: I think it's obvious Sanders would face daunting challenges as president, especially with one or two Republican chambers of congress.  Sanders is wrong that he could sway McConnell into holding votes on his agenda and Republicans into supporting bills by rallying his supporters.  He will have to build bridges within his own party (using carrots & sticks) and extend fig leaves to the opposition to be able to pass any bills, assuming Republicans do not blockade everything he intends to do.  In fact, he may rely on executive powers to fulfill any significant component of his agenda.  But it's also worth acknowledging that the challenges Sanders faces in this regard would be shared by any Democrat who wins the presidency.  I think there is every reason to believe Republicans would blockade Biden's agenda, for instance, in the same way they would with Sanders'.  The difference between Sanders and other Democrats is that he would not cave to every whim of the centrists and conservatives in his party, or to Republicans.  He has been in congress for decades and knows what it takes to get things done, but he also has a set of principles, and he won't be inclined to let his base down unless he can exact significant concessions from his opponents.  Most important to me is Sanders' powers in the executive branch.  Being able to mold the Deparment of Labor and Defense in his image would lead to huge and immediate changes in policy for the better, in my view.  And generally, building a popular left movement would be a necessary development for the country.

The main issue I have with these articles is that they cast in such certain terms that Sanders is a weak nominee.  They refer to the track record of the Justice Dems, and to Americans' views on specific issues and on socialism to paint a grim picture of his prospects.  But what if Sanders was more than just the sum of these characteristics?  National polls now show him posting similar numbers to Biden in matchups with Trump, with most showing him leading Trump.  The internals of some polls also show favorable results for him, such as the most recent Q poll showing Sanders with a massive advantage over everyone in the field in the "honest/trustworthy" category.  Beyond that, I think Sanders has the unique ability to activate younger voters who could well stay home if Biden was leading the ticket.  Could Sanders lose anyway?  Of course.  But these editorials are awfully one-sided in their arguments against his candidacy, and the confidence of their condemnations does not reflect what we are seeing in polling.

[Ronnie]

From the oldest LGBTQ magazine: "The Time to Stop Bernie Sanders is NOW"

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/01/29/time-to-stop-bernie-sanders-is-now/

Despite the BS Sanders is selling he has never been a leader in any movement whether it is women’s rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, disability rights or immigrant rights. People must understand shouting and waving your arms about and selling what was once called ‘snake oil’ isn’t being a leader. It may play to the crowd, and seems to be playing to young people, but in our system of government it doesn’t work to move a progressive agenda forward and for over thirty years in Congress Sanders record of accomplishing practically nothing is proof of that.

Easily one of the most unhinged anti-Bernie articles I’ve seen this cycle.  The hatred some Dems have for Bernie is borderline pathological.

[Ronnie]

Here's an article with more context regarding Bernie's remarks on Wallace:

https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/1223019958390677504

I think it's obvious that the Democrats who are spreading the two sentences in question have no interest in engaging in good faith, and are only out to smear Bernie.