Moderate Dems have a duty to consider Sanders

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

Written by someone who's favorite and first choice isn't Bernie, but who actually has the sense and brains to consider how and why Bernie might actually be the most electable based on the evidence. 

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Moderate Democrats have a duty to consider Sanders. He has a clear path to beating Trump.

If moderate Democrats are serious when they say their only concern is beating President Donald Trump, they should get used to the thought of backing Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

 

If you believe in saving democracy, the courts and the planet, and reversing the unrepentant cruelty, corruption and carelessness that define the current administration, you have a duty to at least consider the candidacy of the most popular senator in America, the top fundraiser in the Democratic primaries, and the man who has generally beaten Trump in head-to-head polls for five years now.

Yes, Sanders is not a Democrat. Neither are most voters. Independent is the most popular party affiliation in America by far.

Last year, Pete Buttigieg himself made a solid yet obvious point. “If we embrace a conservative agenda, you know what they're going to do?” he said. Republicans will say "we’re a bunch of crazy socialists. So let’s stand up for the right policy, go up there and defend it.” 

 

If every Democrat is going to be called a socialist, maybe the one who has spent decades dealing with this charge is our best choice. And given that 4 in 10 American adults can’t afford a $400 emergency, you can argue that the best candidate to run against Trump — a walking monument to the dangers of inherited wealth — is a candidate who has spent decades warning against the evils of an economy where the top 0.1% own as much as the bottom 90%.

Like the vast majority of Sanders supporters in the 2016 election, I’d gladly vote for any Democratic nominee over Trump. This senator isn’t even my favorite senator running for the nomination. Yet one reason I have to seriously consider Sanders is that he has the clearest path to uniting the Democratic Party and ousting the evil clown in the Oval Office.

And if you only care about winning, you can’t ignore that.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/02/09/bernie-sanders-could-beat-donald-trump-2020-column/4694526002/

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

An apparent moderate who doesn't let their bias get in the way of the evidence, to the point of ignoring it and becoming outright disdain for a candidate?

We love to see it

Certain moderates here whose rhetoric sounds like they should actually be in the Republican Party should take note 

[OMonster 15,025]

Of course they should consider him. 

Why shouldn't they?

That's how democracy works. 

He's the wrong pick, though, to beat Trump - unfortunately. 

But there's no one on the Dems who could win over middle America in the way Trump has / did. 

The problem is that politics is more tribal and more divided than ever before - and that makes it very hard for opposition parties to win elections, since they now have to win over the people that they've so strongly judged. 

The truth is that there simply aren't enough liberals / socialists to outnumber the voters who have been benefitted, economically, by Trump. So, the task for the Dems is to win over those voters - people that they've alienated themselves from by (wrongly or rightly) attacking Trump at every turn; a man who is marketed to 'be on their side' - on the side of middle, working America. 

Instead, the Dems appear to be on the side of the elites, the liberals and the 'woke'. 

I hate to label people into different groups, but it's the reality of winning power. 

And as it stands, Trump is winning that game; he has a large core base, and there's no one strong enough to take that base away from him.

Bernie doesn't even touch Trump's base - he has his very distinct own base, but a one that is comparatively smaller.

Winning elections from the point  of loss is about expanding your base, and convincing the people who oppose you (those who voted for Trump, in this instance) that you're actually a better alternative to what they picked. 

How does Bernie (or any Dem, for that matter) speak to middle America? He doesn't.

And I'm not talking about his vision or his policies - I'm talking about his marketing, his 'base' and the domain he sits within. It's very far removed from middle America. 

And that's the problem.

[Economy 52,861]

I still wonder if some of the moderate and centrist votes he will loose to Trump from ppl who don't want socialism will be compensated by turnout or not

 

I do wanna point out something that has not been mentioned here

 

Sanders is performing the best among Democrats (and yes independents). It is a primary election from that more progressive half of America

 

Once u add the more Conservative side to the mix as well the entire Nation (the general election) the one that does the best in the primary may or may not necessarily do best in the general election cuz ur no longer only trying to get the vote of the more progressive portion of the Nation

 

Regardless back on topic to ur post, I do think if he turns out to be the candidate anyone whose serious about getting rid of Trump will have to suck it up and support him whether they like him or not

[Economy 52,861]

38 minutes ago, OMonster said:

Of course they should consider him. 

Why shouldn't they?

That's how democracy works. 

He's the wrong pick, though, to beat Trump - unfortunately. 

But there's no one on the Dems who could win over middle America in the way Trump has / did. 

The problem is that politics is more tribal and more divided than ever before - and that makes it very hard for opposition parties to win elections, since they now have to win over the people that they've so strongly judged. 

The truth is that there simply aren't enough liberals / socialists to outnumber the voters who have been benefitted, economically, by Trump. So, the task for the Dems is to win over those voters - people that they've alienated themselves from by (wrongly or rightly) attacking Trump at every turn; a man who is marketed to 'be on their side' - on the side of middle, working America. 

Instead, the Dems appear to be on the side of the elites, the liberals and the 'woke'. 

I hate to label people into different groups, but it's the reality of winning power. 

And as it stands, Trump is winning that game; he has a large core base, and there's no one strong enough to take that base away from him.

Bernie doesn't even touch Trump's base - he has his very distinct own base, but a one that is comparatively smaller.

Winning elections from the point  of loss is about expanding your base, and convincing the people who oppose you (those who voted for Trump, in this instance) that you're actually a better alternative to what they picked. 

How does Bernie (or any Dem, for that matter) speak to middle America? He doesn't.

And I'm not talking about his vision or his policies - I'm talking about his marketing, his 'base' and the domain he sits within. It's very far removed from middle America. 

And that's the problem.

You make another good point. Bernie's base is dedicated and solid but I also think it's still smaller than Trump's

 

Add the fact that many centrists or moderates that don't like how socialist Bernie may just end up voting for Trump u have a very likely loss

 

The main argument Bernie supporters make (and I think it's a very valid argument) is that he energizes his base and likely will increase voter turn out

 

I just don't know if that higher turnout ultimately is enough to compensate tbh

 

[OMonster 15,025]

15 minutes ago, Economy said:

You make another good point. Bernie's base is dedicated and solid but I also think it's still smaller than Trump's

 

Add the fact that many centrists or moderates that don't like how socialist Bernie may just end up voting for Trump u have a very likely loss

 

The main argument Bernie supporters make (and I think it's a very valid argument) is that he energizes his base and likely will increase voter turn out

 

I just don't know if that higher turnout ultimately is enough to compensate tbh

 

He will increase voter turnout in groups that would never have voted for Trump, anyway. 

But even with those voters, Bernie's base would not exceed Trump's. 

Trump may have lost the popular vote in 2016, but his presidency has been very successful for most working Americans removed from the socialist / 'woke' bubble. 

Whilst Bernie will mobilise new voters; Trump will retain his own base, and will also gain ground elsewhere.

It's highly, highly likely that Trump will win with an increased vote.