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

[Rookie Yinzer]

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).

[Badger]

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:

1. He needs to figure out if he is actually a socialist who supports socialist policies, or if he is just a social democrat who is using socialism to find a niche in the political debate. If he wants to say he's going to build a Scandanavian-style state, use the vocabulary people associate with that (i.e. robust welfare state, multi-level collective bargaining, mixed economy, free market). Otherwise, everyone outside of his fan base will just be picturing East Germany or Cuba. If he truly is a socialist, he needs to own it and not try to make it sound like it's basically just Europe with more rose decals.

He's obviously a social democrat.

2. He needs to be more visible on issues that aren't squarely in his wheelhouse. We all know he will show up to support striking workers. That's kind of his thing. Maybe he could take an overseas trip to show how he would function as a diplomat. Maybe he could tour a lab in silicon valley to show he is able to follow the latest technological developments. Maybe he can take a trip to an oil rig to show how he sees those workers fitting in to his vision of America. One thing he did to recently that I'll commend him on in this regard was to visit the Comanche Nation.

Touring an oil rig? Seriously? That would be pointless.

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.

He's got a dry New England humor.

4. I think he can hit back on the narrative that his supporters are a bunch of Bernie Bros who won't accept anybody but him and are basicall holding the primary hostage as a result. I think one really easy way he could do this is by having a high-publicity meeting with some of the other candidates where they all talk friendly and as a united front. It might enrage a couple of his supporters who do see everyone else in the primary as a dirty enemy of the revolution. I can say firsthand, though, it made a big difference in 2008 as a Clinton supporter to see Hillary enthusiastically give the roll call vote for New York for Obama. If people who might like Biden or Warren as their first choice but are still considering Sander see them getting along with Bernie, I guarantee it will raise their opinion of him while also doing the good work of bringing the Democrats together to defeat Trump.

If you don't see that the Democratic establishment needs huge change, you're not on our side.

5. Why is he running this year with 18 other candidates still in the race? What does he think he has that no other candidate has? I know his supporters will say it's something like "he's had these views for 50 years!" But what Democrats want is someone who, unlike Obama, is able to deliver on these big ideals. I don't think Bernie has separated himself from the pack in this regard. Surely Bernie has something in his heart that is what is driving him to run for president, but even through his passion and energy, I still don't see what he sees in himself that he doesn't see in the rest of the field.

How many of those other candidates supported single payer before Hillary lost? How many are members of congress who never voted to increase the military budget under Trump? How many have a solid progressive record going back 30 years? How many would really fight for change? The idea that Bernie is just like the other 18 candidates is nonsense.

Regarding number three. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Bernie has a notoriously difficult time talking about his personal life. Part of that is because even in private conversations with friends his discussions reportedly sound a lot like his stump speech. His primary topics a private conversation among friends are economic and equality, Etc. Good on him, but it doesn't make him very relatable. This maybe a dog that just won't hunt. Either voters are going to accept Sanders notwithstanding the whole who I'd most like to have a beer with test.

Regarding number four, the J ferns of the world need to understand that Bernie and the show called Democratic establishment agree on about 85 to 90 + percent of those are platform. The differences are only that large because the Democratic establishment is it fully on board for Medicaid for all yet, but will be the minute Sanders wins the primary. Resolve that issue and we're talkin 95 to 99%, the primary difference being whether or not to unilaterally disarm from corporate donations even if Sanders runs on a Social Democratic platform of his own crafting.

Bottom line, while I'm not saying no reform is needed, Bernie desperately needs, emphasis needs, the Democratic establishment ultimately to back him coming out of the convention in order to be Trump. And furthermore there's no reason that they shouldn't or wouldn't do so.

[Pyro]

https://twitter.com/ryanobles/status/1179797021470924802

Look's like meat's back on the menu, boys.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/ryanobles/status/1179797021470924802

Look's like meat's back on the menu, boys.

Ehhh, they're going to say that unless he was going to drop out imminently. The debate was always going to be the litmus test of whether he'd stay in the race, as the next major event in the Democratic Primary.

I'll hold fire until the 15th. If Sanders turns up and rallies the crowd, he might recover. If he ducks out or appears diminished, I think his candidacy is in real trouble.

[Eraserhead]

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).

This junk post gets to stay but my response to it doesn't? Sad!

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

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:

1. He needs to figure out if he is actually a socialist who supports socialist policies, or if he is just a social democrat who is using socialism to find a niche in the political debate. If he wants to say he's going to build a Scandanavian-style state, use the vocabulary people associate with that (i.e. robust welfare state, multi-level collective bargaining, mixed economy, free market). Otherwise, everyone outside of his fan base will just be picturing East Germany or Cuba. If he truly is a socialist, he needs to own it and not try to make it sound like it's basically just Europe with more rose decals.

He's obviously a social democrat.

2. He needs to be more visible on issues that aren't squarely in his wheelhouse. We all know he will show up to support striking workers. That's kind of his thing. Maybe he could take an overseas trip to show how he would function as a diplomat. Maybe he could tour a lab in silicon valley to show he is able to follow the latest technological developments. Maybe he can take a trip to an oil rig to show how he sees those workers fitting in to his vision of America. One thing he did to recently that I'll commend him on in this regard was to visit the Comanche Nation.

Touring an oil rig? Seriously? That would be pointless.

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.

He's got a dry New England humor.

4. I think he can hit back on the narrative that his supporters are a bunch of Bernie Bros who won't accept anybody but him and are basicall holding the primary hostage as a result. I think one really easy way he could do this is by having a high-publicity meeting with some of the other candidates where they all talk friendly and as a united front. It might enrage a couple of his supporters who do see everyone else in the primary as a dirty enemy of the revolution. I can say firsthand, though, it made a big difference in 2008 as a Clinton supporter to see Hillary enthusiastically give the roll call vote for New York for Obama. If people who might like Biden or Warren as their first choice but are still considering Sander see them getting along with Bernie, I guarantee it will raise their opinion of him while also doing the good work of bringing the Democrats together to defeat Trump.

If you don't see that the Democratic establishment needs huge change, you're not on our side.

5. Why is he running this year with 18 other candidates still in the race? What does he think he has that no other candidate has? I know his supporters will say it's something like "he's had these views for 50 years!" But what Democrats want is someone who, unlike Obama, is able to deliver on these big ideals. I don't think Bernie has separated himself from the pack in this regard. Surely Bernie has something in his heart that is what is driving him to run for president, but even through his passion and energy, I still don't see what he sees in himself that he doesn't see in the rest of the field.

How many of those other candidates supported single payer before Hillary lost? How many are members of congress who never voted to increase the military budget under Trump? How many have a solid progressive record going back 30 years? How many would really fight for change? The idea that Bernie is just like the other 18 candidates is nonsense.

Regarding number three. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Bernie has a notoriously difficult time talking about his personal life. Part of that is because even in private conversations with friends his discussions reportedly sound a lot like his stump speech. His primary topics a private conversation among friends are economic and equality, Etc. Good on him, but it doesn't make him very relatable. This maybe a dog that just won't hunt. Either voters are going to accept Sanders notwithstanding the whole who I'd most like to have a beer with test.

Regarding number four, the J ferns of the world need to understand that Bernie and the show called Democratic establishment agree on about 85 to 90 + percent of those are platform. The differences are only that large because the Democratic establishment is it fully on board for Medicaid for all yet, but will be the minute Sanders wins the primary. Resolve that issue and we're talkin 95 to 99%, the primary difference being whether or not to unilaterally disarm from corporate donations even if Sanders runs on a Social Democratic platform of his own crafting.

Bottom line, while I'm not saying no reform is needed, Bernie desperately needs, emphasis needs, the Democratic establishment ultimately to back him coming out of the convention in order to be Trump. And furthermore there's no reason that they shouldn't or wouldn't do so.

I don't know if I agree with even Bernie 90% of the time, and I doubt even 50% for the Democratic establishment. For one thing, the establishment foreign policy of the US is completely awful. Bernie is much better there, but not perfect.

[Zaybay]

https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1179889705673871360

Barnstorming is back on the menu

[Eraserhead]

https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1179889705673871360

Barnstorming is back on the menu

Sounds like the whole thing wasn't nearly as serious as may have been initially feared.

Great stuff. I do hope he at least takes it easy for a week or two though.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Someone SERIOUSLY needs to bring a "MY KING IS ALIVE" sign to his next public appearance.

[Canis]

https://twitter.com/davidsirota/status/1179952825045929989

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1179936567919554560

[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?

[Orwell]

Bernie should drop out, this is a warning sign.

[KaiserDave]

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?

Agree, I for one am just itching to move there. Seriously, great state.

[Rookie Yinzer]

Thread:

https://twitter.com/dennisdiclaudio/status/1180482701125664770

The demagoguery and martyrdom is out of control.

[Torrain]

Thread:

https://twitter.com/dennisdiclaudio/status/1180482701125664770
The demagoguery and martyrdom is out of control.

Yikes.

Read the article, and it stops just short of apotheosis.

The sheer terror with which I contemplated a world without Bernie made me realize just how important he is right now.

But I also feel like this candidacy is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do something incredible, and that if we don’t take it we’ll regret it, and that he knows that, and that he’s willing to destroy himself and shorten his life and give up whatever he might have wanted to do with his twilight years in order to accomplish the most serious political mission of any of our lifetimes.

But someone has to do it, and I think Bernie Sanders has looked at the facts and realized that nobody else can do what he can do. And I think that’s just obviously true

he’s willing to destroy himself and shorten his life and give up whatever he might have wanted to do with his twilight years in order to accomplish the most serious political mission of any of our lifetimes

He's making a martyr out of Sanders in the most literal way possible.

To be clear, Nathan J. Robinson can write whatever he wants.

But it's highly irresponsible for the campaign manager of the Sanders campaign to be distributing what is little less than the Gospel of Bernie.

[QAnonKelly]

Thread:

https://twitter.com/dennisdiclaudio/status/1180482701125664770

The demagoguery and martyrdom is out of control.

A 78yo man who just had a heart attack needs to rest. Anybody in his campaign who’s pushing for him to do anything but that obviously doesn’t have his best interest at heart.

[Old Man Willow]

This "once in a lifetime candidate" talking point is nonsense. Bernie will get nothing done as President. His plan to combat Republican obstruction by holding anti-McConnell rallies in KY is the most embarrassing thing I've ever heard.

[GeneralMacArthur]

This "once in a lifetime candidate" talking point is nonsense. Bernie will get nothing done as President. His plan to combat Republican obstruction by holding anti-McConnell rallies in KY is the most embarrassing thing I've ever heard.

When you read Bernie's legislation, it's all "tell so and so secretary to do this", "instruct so and so agency to do that", etc.

There's no detail, no real plan, just "here's what I want to do, now go figure out a way to make it happen."

You see this in his public appearances as well.  Remember the NYDN interview?  Bernie doesn't actually understand the details of what he wants to change, nor does he comprehend what the consequences of his actions would be.

His fifty years of "fighting for us" amounts to a well-refined populist wish list that has zero depth beyond the slogans.  It sounds good, and it gets him elected and rakes in cash.

But if he were ever to become president, and miraculously have the ability to achieve his goals, he'd be like the dog who finally catches the car.  No idea what to actually do with it.

That's why he doesn't have any actual plan for fighting Republicans, or for paying for his schemes.  That's why he doesn't care what economists, doctors, statesmen, and other experts say about his plans.  What's the point?  They're not real plans.  He has no intention of actually enacting them.

[Mr. Smith]

This "once in a lifetime candidate" talking point is nonsense. Bernie will get nothing done as President. His plan to combat Republican obstruction by holding anti-McConnell rallies in KY is the most embarrassing thing I've ever heard.

When you read Bernie's legislation, it's all "tell so and so secretary to do this", "instruct so and so agency to do that", etc.

There's no detail, no real plan, just "here's what I want to do, now go figure out a way to make it happen."

You see this in his public appearances as well.  Remember the NYDN interview?  Bernie doesn't actually understand the details of what he wants to change, nor does he comprehend what the consequences of his actions would be.

His fifty years of "fighting for us" amounts to a well-refined populist wish list that has zero depth beyond the slogans.  It sounds good, and it gets him elected and rakes in cash.

But if he were ever to become president, and miraculously have the ability to achieve his goals, he'd be like the dog who finally catches the car.  No idea what to actually do with it.

That's why he doesn't have any actual plan for fighting Republicans, or for paying for his schemes.  That's why he doesn't care what economists, doctors, statesmen, and other experts say about his plans.  What's the point?  They're not real plans.  He has no intention of actually enacting them.

FDR's New Deal was also very vague, and Hoover said similar things, and yet we're still talking about it.

Reaganomics were laughed off for similar reasons...now the whole system is run by the dogma of supply-side-stupidity

All it takes is enough syncopancy to turn out, flip the chambers against any opposition, and instructions of the sort fit perfectly, and then there will be enough people to get the tasks done.

Either way, it's still more than just expecting the GOP to bend over because they lost.

[Beet]

Whatever else you can say about Bernie's campaign, it's clear the #NotMeUs stuff is nonsense. Here it is in clear black and white.

[Awesomo]

I actually love the demagoguery and martyrdom from the Sanders campaign! That kind of attitude will be needed to beat Trump's rhetoric.

[Technocracy Timmy]

I actually love the demagoguery and martyrdom from the Sanders campaign! That kind of attitude will be needed to beat Trump's rhetoric.

Plus nothing recharges one’s batteries like a good ole fashioned heart attack.

[Canis]

damn sanders will always get a lot of hate on here I will definitely support Warren if it comes down to it but I wish we could all be a bit more respectful to each other Im not saying either side is clean or innocent

[NOVA Green]

Dude... chill out seriously you are being a major a**hole and part of the reason why older and middle age Dems consider folks like you to be total d**ks and would rather vote for Trump than whatever DEM alt candidate you propose...

1.) Sanders had the highest fundraising $$$ of any DEM candidate this past quarter, including working-class donors such as me and my wife that have an auto deduction plan into our bank deal of $27/Month.

2.) Personal character assassination to support your preferred DEM candidate will not work for us.

I would rather vote for Republicans or 3rd Party Candidates than some the crap "Yellow Dog" Dems you throw the Red Meat to....

3.) It is particularly insulting to see you folks post such statements after a recent medical incident where Bernie could have easily lost his life.

4.) Go back home to the Republican Party where you belong, we don't need you in our neighborhood.

5.) I know some of you Millennial young folks on the DEM sides are shifting around in the '20 Primaries, "but quite frankly my dear I don't give a damn".... which is part of the reason for Bernie's Q3 numbers is that he has working-class folks like me and my wife on auto-deduct.

6.) Whatever---- half tempted to vote Libertarian or 3rd Party in '20 considering how many of you "Democrats" on Atlas do the hate gig on Bernie. If not me, than likely many of my daughters, son-in-laws, not to mention friends and comrades at the Factory....

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).