Hill's Group: Hillary Clinton's Campaign Organization Could Overshadow Enthusiasm For Bernie Sanders

[BlueMTexpat]

The stakes are high for the Vermont senator to perform well in early March caucus states.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-midwest_us_56d08e1ce4b03260bf76a0a1

...
Sanders’ losses in both Nevada and Iowa increase the value of states like Missouri and Kansas, where he seeks to run up his delegate totals. Missouri will hold its primary on March 15, while Kansas holds its caucuses, which require a major investment in time and resources, on March 5. Both Democratic campaigns are operating in high gear to turn out as many voters as possible in a short time frame.

“As organizers, you feel nervous to enter a state with 15 days left to identify support,” said Shelby Iseler, who is Sanders’ Kansas state director and previously served as a deputy field director in Iowa. Iseler, along with six other paid staffers in Iowa, were redeployed to the Great Plains the day after the first-in-the nation caucus.
...
Clinton’s team seems to be using a different strategy in Kansas this cycle, vowing not to repeat the mistakes of 2008, when the former secretary of state suffered a devastating loss to Barack Obama in Kansas and other caucus states.

While there has been grassroots organizing throughout the state as well, the Clinton campaign began deploying paid staff in November 2015, two months before Sanders’ campaign staff were on the ground. Former Clinton staffer Pat Rynard said that could make a difference.

“The campaign strategy is night and day,” said Rynard, who organized for Clinton in Iowa and Kansas in 2008 and has witnessed both campaign operations on the ground in several Midwestern caucus states this cycle. “They are investing the staff that they need in order to win delegates or mitigate delegate losses in states that Sanders might win.”

[stonecutter357]

1. K&R!

[ismnotwasm]

2. K&R

[yallerdawg]

3. I guess we'll blandly and unexcitedly slog along supporting our candidate.

At least we're organized...I guess...

[BlueMTexpat]

4. Just that, LOL!

[George II]

5. The headline should read "did" instead of "should". And that enthusiasm is way over exaggerated

If there was so much enthusiasm he would be ahead in more than three or four states.

That guy Shelby Iseler sure doesn't sound very enthusiastic about his candidate.

[BlueMTexpat]

7. I do believe that there IS a lot of

enthusiasm for Bernie and what he is saying (huge crowds, etc.), but that enthusiasm doesn't necessarily translate into support at the polls.

Good organization for the long term can trump any one day's large crowd. (Hate to use "trump" in ANY sense, but ....)

We shall see how organization paid off when the actual votes are counted.

[72DejaVu]

9. Lots of people followed the Grateful Dead form show to show, too.

But they never sold a lot of records.

[George II]

10. And got even less votes!

[otohara]

6. Smarter, Better, Winner

#ImWithHer this time around!

[Lucinda]

8. This is telling:

"...As organizers, you feel nervous to enter a state with 15 days left to identify support..."


Seems to imply there has been little to no advance work done.

We know that Sanders team grabbed info from the data breach which provided information about voters in 10 early states, specifically mentioned were Iowa and NH, both states where he did better than expected. And now, his polling numbers have tanked, and they talk about not even having potential voters identified 2 weeks out from a vote?

I suspect March might end up even worse for Bernie than we thought it would.

[Treant]

11. Data's value decreases

over time as well when it's the sort that naturally ages like voter information.

What helped in state #1 and state #2 isn't going to be so helpful by state #6.

[Lucinda]

12. I think we are seeing that fact in action.

Should be an interesting month ahead of us!

[TrueDemVA]

13. Tough to get excited hearing this

The big machine will beat the enthusiasm out of people. That kinda sucks. It's this very point that is slowly hurting the party. The we'll oiled and heavy finance machine will beat the dreams and big ideas out of the folks who feel there has to be a better way.

[book_worm]

15. If they are enthusiastic about Bernie then they need to vote

if they don't vote then I doubt they are very enthusiastic.

[book_worm]

14. Poll out today in KS indicates that lots are undecided but among those who are decided

HRC has a 10-point lead.

[SunSeeker]

16. Hill yes!