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| 17,000 hear Sanders in Tacoma |
First thing for Democrats: Stop all the negativity.
"Oh my God, it's going to be Bernie. We're totally screwed." We read and see Democrats saying this everywhere that people interested in politics go.
It's on Fox, of course, but also in the places Democrats find credible. MSNBC, CNN, PBS, the NY Times, the Washington Post.
Cable news has a revolving door of hosts reporting on two related stories. One is that Bernie Sanders cannot win because he is too extreme. Socialism polls worse than being black, a woman, gay, or an atheist. They worry Bernie Sanders is going to be our version of Jeremy Corbyn, the too-far-left leader of the Labor Party in Britain, who lost badly to Britain's Trumpish Boris Johnson.
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James Carville says it on CNN, and Chris Matthews says it on MSNBC. The Never-Trump conservatives--Charlie Sykes and Bill Kristol--are moaning that anyone could beat Trump as long as they weren't leftist loonies, and yet, they are going with Bernie.
Another McGovern blowout, here we come.
The other big message is that Democrats are at work to stop Bernie at any cost, above board or below it, either alone or in a coordinated secret conspiracy organized by the DNC..
The two messages together create a message of defeat. They tell a story that Bernie Sanders cannot win because he is flawed on his own and because even his potential friends (i.e. Democrats) are against him. It fuels a circle-the-wagons attitude within the Bernie ranks ("Go f--- yourself, boomer.") which impedes coalition building. It destroys hope. If you think you can't, you can't.
Political momentum for change builds on the emotion of hope, the idea that something big is happening and change is not just possible but happening right now, so get aboard the Blue Wave. It is why political oratory matters, when spoken to a large live audience. Humans are energized by the energy and enthusiasm of others. Yes We Can. Hope and Change. I have a dream. Friends, Romans, Countrymen.
If you think you can, you can.
Michael Bloomberg will change from a nuisance into a political leader when he gives speeches in packed basketball arenas, and people are chanting "Bloomberg. Bloomberg." The people at Sanders' crowds are shouting "Bernie!." The problem is that a lot of Democrats are outside the arena talking doom.
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Political observer Thad Guyer says that what we have now is a Democratic buzz-kill message. Guyer is an attorney with an international practice defending whistleblowing employees. He does his work wherever his laptop computer is, currently most often from his perch in Vietnam.
Guest Post by Thad Guyer
"The Self-fulfilling Prophecy of Bernie Can't Win"
People listen to their leaders especially in times of crisis. Donald Trump is considered a crisis, and the leaders within the Democratic Party who have our ear are Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and a wide array of media elites and elected officials.
Here is the message they are drilling into us: "Bernie Sanders cannot beat Donald Trump". When voters believe that casting their vote is futile or even self-defeating, they don't vote. When primary candidates and party officials say "I will vote for whoever the nominee is but Bernie can't win", voters hear that putting up with the hassle and long lines on election day is a waste of time.
Political junkies like the readers of this blog and I will vote as a matter of principle. But "party faithful" status is held by only an estimated 40% of registered Democrats and democratic leaning independents. If even 25% of Democratic voters take this message to heart, there is no way Trump will be defeated by Bernie Sanders. If Bernie Sanders is denied the nomination and 25% of his supporters don't vote, or vote for Trump like they did the last time, Trump is guaranteed reelection.
If Trump wins as historical precedent says he almost surely will since similarly situated mid term presidents have always won for about the last 100 years, then this self defeating prophecy will rank high in our root cause analysis. If our leaders cannot stop this defeatism under our own tent, they should be held held to account in the aftermath. Or is a democratic tent itself an illusion?
7 comments:
Bernie is an ideologue who is incapable of criticizing anything done by socialists. His comment on the communist tyranny in Cuba was that they did good things like increasing the literacy rate; this is like praising the National Socialists in 1930s Germany for making the trains run on time.
The negative ads that point out this and many other such statements by Bernie will destroy his chances with the American people. If the Democrats don’t do it, Trump will.
Sen. Sanders frontrunner status could be more about confusion than excitement.
Primary voters are generally more engaged and knowledgable but in this cycle the plethora of candidates representing a full spectrum of positions and policies from Trojan Horse Republican to full on Karl Marx, I can see how voters might be simply throwing up their hands and voting for Bernie out of sheer frustration.
Of all the candidates he is the most diametrically opposed to Trump and the Regressives.
It might be as simple as that.
It does not help the democrat's cause when they have six candidates on the stage (and others off-stage). They are all like trained dogs jumping and barking to see who can get your attention, seeing who can out-do the next. If the democrats were smart, then they'd force some fringe candidates to drop-out of the race. If it were a 2 or 3-person race, then perhaps Bernie wouldn't be the front-runner. With a crowded and broken field, Bernie gets just enough support from his base to be at the top. Would Bernie be at the top if only he and Bloomberg or he and Buttigieg were the only candidates? Bernie's supporters are not a majority of the democrat party.
Bernie and his supporters are engaged in a hostile takeover of the Democratic Party by the working class. Fingers are crossed they can win the battle.
Mr Guyer left out Elizabeth Warren in his consideration. Interestingly, one poll has her in second place to Sanders in CBS news poll on Feb 23! She is so obviously (to me) the go-to candidate to still be progressive yet approachable. Don't count her out.
We have another debate to watch tonight. So, more clarity will emerge I think.
" the places Democrats find credible. MSNBC, CNN, PBS, the NY Times, the Washington Post."
Lordie, lordie...and THAT is the problem: low information voters who buy the corporate media tripe...which I guess makes them corporate liberals, whether they know it or not.
I hope Thad Guyer and all the smartest folks in the room look back on their comments in November and take a big piece of humble pie when they realize that the torch has just been wrested from their hands by a new generation.
Now is not the time for y'all "sunshine soldiers;" whatever happened to "any blue will do?!"
If Bernie-not-even-close-to-Marxist-to-the-right-of-FDR is the nominee will you take your
bat and ball and stay home (as you've self-righteously accused Sanders' supporters of doing...without any evidence, I might add)?!
Look...here's the deal with us Berniecrats: we're betting the majority of Americans (not just wishy-washy Dems) will vote for a real populist (ever heard that word before?) not the orange faux-populist snake-oil salesman in the oval orifice.
Andy Seles
The "cattle call" list of Democratic candidates is based on an underlying belief that any opponent of Trump will be triumphant because of Trump's egregious behavior as president.In short, the "Anyone other than Trump" strategy. However, it is doubtful that a Bernie Sanders, if elected, would have the support of the Congress in enacting legislation in keeping with his rhetoric. While many of his assertions and proposed legislative solutions have merit he would will still have to deal with a Congress that is utterly corrupt and self-serving. Yes, I fall among those who will cast their vote for any opponent of Trump,for I can think of no living person as contemptible and unfit to claim membership in the human race. Unfortunately, if Trump is defeated, the next president will still have to deal with the nationwide ignorance and bigotry exposed in the 2016 election. In short, we're screwed either way. Our only possible salvation lies in the voting power of the younger generation who resolutely close their eyes and ears to the
incompetence emanating from the Washington D.C.
Bob Warren
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