2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThe Hill: "Why Sanders outperforms Clinton against Republicans"
link; excerpt:In a new CNN/ORC poll released Tuesday morning, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) defeats Donald Trump (R) in a general election match-up by 55 percent to 43 percent, defeats Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) by 57 percent to 40 percent and defeats Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) by 53 percent to 45 percent.
By contrast, Hillary Clinton (D) defeats Trump by 52 percent to 44 percent, less than Sanders but still impressive. However, while Sanders would defeat Rubio and Cruz by hefty margins, Rubio beats Clinton, 50 percent to 47 percent, while Cruz defeats her 49 percent to 48 percent.
This new poll is not an outlier. It reflects the broad trends of most polling. ... The data tell us ... that Clinton could be vulnerable in a general election ... Most important, this latest of many polls showing Sanders running well ahead of Clinton against Republicans suggests that the real majority... in American politics is the progressive populism of Sanders, which is a major reason polls suggest he would run stronger than Clinton against Republican opponents.... Sanders speaks of making healthcare truly universal through a single-payer system, raising the minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour, providing young people with a free public college education financed by a tax on Wall Street speculation, increasing Social Security benefits and breaking up the big banks, a position recently championed even by a member of the Federal Reserve Board.
Progressive populism triumphs politically over the supply-side economics of the right, the root-canal budget-cutting of more establishment Republicans and the crony capitalism of more conservative Democrats.... Bernie Sanders is winning the battle of ideas. In most polling, he soundly defeats Republicans because his message is far more powerful and appealing to the nation. Hillary Clinton is moving in the direction of Sanders by emphasizing more progressive and populist positions, which is good for America and heathy for Democrats.
jillan
(39,451 posts)With Hillary, the only people that like her are Democrats.
Simple as that.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)jillan
(39,451 posts)Just like we have now.
Enough.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)But they will work with Bernie because he's a self-described socialist who's even further to the left of Obama.
Ya....OK.
I'll have whatever you're smoking.
earthshine
(1,642 posts)Some Republican voters find Bernie quite palatable, and a better choice than the GOP offers. And certainly the independents do.
ALL polls show Bernie defeating ALL Republican candidates. Hillary can only beat some of them some of the time. This makes her unelectable.
As for Hillary, ALL Republicans despise her, and they have decades of practice.
Obama is still pushing with all his might to enact the TPP and H-1B visas. It's not hard to be to the left of Obama.
Even Trump is to the left of Obama and Hillary on trade.
Vote2016
(1,198 posts)Attorney in Texas
(3,373 posts)What Obama did during the first two years of his term, and what Sanders will do, is promote his agenda directly to the people; much of Sanders agenda is popular among Republican voters even if it is unpopular with the Republican establishment.
Hillary will pass whatever Paul Ryan sends her (or will veto what he sends her) because she is running for the office of captain the establishment gridlock and not even attempting any real change.
She is running to BE something (the first woman president); she is not running to DO anything (because she has no plans to change the established order).