One candidate ran with virtually all the advantages of an incumbent- from being

[cali]

as well known as any sitting President to having not only the democratic establishment aiding her, including the DNC, but also one of the most powerful political machines in our history, and a big war chest.

The other was unknown to the vast majority, had no war chest and no political machine.

Every Hillary fan on DU predicted he would go nowhere. All of you.

Instead he framed the debate, blew away the accepted wisdom on fundraising, inspired a generation and won 20 states with more wins to come.

His accomplishments in this primary are extraordinary; what he's done is far more difficult and thus far more impressive than a candidate with massive advantages, getting the party nomination.

You Hillary fans prefer to pretend that two candidates essentially started from the same place.

Nothing could be further from the facts.

[Buzz Clik]

1. "Every Hillary fan on DU predicted he would go nowhere." And we were correct.

[Number23]

2. Killed it in post 1.

[cali]

5. Lol. That your idea of killing it. My, my but your standards for a witty retort

couldn't be lower. But then, you are a hill fan.

[NurseJackie]

15. Oh, it was funny and you know it! :-P

It was a perfect comedic "straight man" setup. You left an opening a mile wide and somebody took the opportunity to make a silly and harmless joke at Bernie's expense.

The joke wasn't aimed at you, nobody is laughing at you ... yet you take it personally as if someone actually had. Then you make it personal by attacking a bystander and accusing them of having low standards.

Lighten up, Cali.

[Number23]

29. Your "standards" appear to be as high as your ability to take a joke or spell

[CorkySt.Clair]

3. +1

A loss is still a loss no matter to what extent these folks do to make themselves feel better about it.

Sad, really.

[highprincipleswork]

9. Hasn't lost yet, nor will his influence fade. Don't count on us disappearing.

[CorkySt.Clair]

31. Yes, I will count on the whining continuing in perpetuity

[highprincipleswork]

36. What you call whining is far preferable to those who just don't give a shit.

[Sheepshank]

42. Hillary after 25+ years of vetting and bashing is standing tall and winning

Bernie, one year of being treated with kid gloves (from the RW and well as BS'ers) can't seem to catch that big break and is going further and further under water with each Primary.

[cali]

4. Sigh. Winning over 20 contests, raising huge amounts of small donor money

framing the debate and inspiring a big segment of a generation, isn't going nowhere. And you all predicted that he wouldn't win a single primary or caucus and that he wouldn't be able to raise the $$$ to compete with hilly.

So I'm right that you were as wrong as could be be, buzzy.

[vintx]

8. Reality simply will not register with her fans.

[Buzz Clik]

25. Yeah, all those tens of millions to Wall Street ad firms and 1%ers who own massive media holdings.

I guess.

[NurseJackie]

6. Ha! :-D ... and ...

[cali]

12. One incumbent ran with all the advantages of an incumbent

and had to fend off an unknown with no machine and no money and no megaphone.

She really is a pathetically weak nominee.

And anyone who thinks the talking yam couldn't beat her, is delusional or ignorant.

[thesquanderer]

7. You call this nowhere?

He's gotten enough support to move the conversation and bring many often ignored topics to the head of the debate. He's gotten enough support to still be in it (albeit just barely) in May, and probably June. He's gotten enough support to FAR outlast three other candidates who were in the first debate. He's gotten far enough where people are talking about (for better or worse) the possibility of a unity ticket with him as Hillary's VP. He's gotten enough support to show that you can run a major campaign without big money contributors. He's gotten enough support to come awfully close to winning without any of Hillary's advantages that the OP listed. He's motivated huge numbers of young people to get into the process. Seriously, you can support him or not, but he deserves his props.

[Baobab]

10. Our country is going nowhere fast, whole generations are being wasted, everything we care about is b

being sold off forever in irreversible secret backroom t-deals. The country seems to be becoming basically a giant control fraud or Ponzi scheme.

[Buzz Clik]

24. Let's see:

He's gotten enough support to move the conversation and bring many often ignored topics to the head of the debate.

No. The things high on his list were the same as HRC's with the lone exception of his obsession with destroying our financial system.

He's gotten enough support to still be in it (albeit just barely) in May, and probably June.

He was toast by the close of the voting on Super Tuesday.

He's gotten enough support to FAR outlast three other candidates who were in the first debate.

Uh... O'Malley and ... ???? Sorry, but beating whoever that was means nothing.

He's gotten far enough where people are talking about (for better or worse) the possibility of a unity ticket with him as Hillary's VP.

Really? Name someone who isn't delusional who thinks HRC wants him as VP.

He's gotten enough support to show that you can run a major campaign without big money contributors.

Run, yes. Win, no.

He's gotten enough support to come awfully close to winning without any of Hillary's advantages that the OP listed.

He isn't in it and has not been in it since March.

He's motivated huge numbers of young people to get into the process.

Big crowds in big venues. Ok.

Seriously, you can support him or not, but he deserves his props.

I like him just fine. But, the message of the OP is pure ca-ca.

[Cali_Democrat]

11. LOL

[annavictorious]

13. I'd like to know exactly how much foreign money floated Sanders campaign.

And why did foreigners trying to manipulate an American election choose Sanders as their tool?
Is he complicit or merely stupid?

[hedda_foil]

17. What the fuck are you babbling on about??? It's without a shred of doubt the looniest CT ever!

Of course, there's also not a shred of proof, so there's that.

[Ferd Berfel]

14. to paraphrase: Clinton started on Third Base and her Supporters think she hit a home run

(not a typo)

[BootinUp]

16. In a year like this one, I would not characterize all that as an advantage, lol. nt

[Onlooker]

18. Hillary's a woman, so starts with the burden of sexism ...

... which Sanders supporters seem to pretend is not a factor. Hillary has also sustained attacks nonstop from both the left and the right while Bernie has had the luxury of being ignored by the right.

[Waiting For Everyman]

23. I know, being the ex-President's wife is such a big burden.

How will she ever overcome it?

[Waiting For Everyman]

19. They like to load up the first response with trash, I've noticed.

It's almost as if it came from a playbook somewhere, it happens over and over again. Every time I see it I think one thing, "so stupid".

You're so right, cali. As I see it, they couldn't be more opposite.

[ContinentalOp]

20. I never underestimated him

I oppose Sanders because I knew that he would inspire a lot of people and gain a certain amount of traction but I never thought he could win the nomination let alone the GE, and I was afraid that he would divide the left like nobody since Nader. And my worst fears basically appear to be coming true.

He didn't draw people into the party, he's driving them further away. He's attracting a lot of first time young voters and completely turning them against the Democratic party and selling them cynicism dressed up as idealism.

[Fumesucker]

33. If you aren't cynical about our system then you haven't been paying atttention

It's the Democratic party desperately trying to turn away the Bernie voters because it fears their impact on the vast gravy train that has made the Clintons among others inordinately wealthy.

[Art_from_Ark]

34. +1000

[ContinentalOp]

37. True, there are different angles of cynicism I guess.

My cynical take is that Clinton is so powerful, so well entrenched in the establishment, that she is pretty much "inevitable." The idea that she's a weak candidate strikes me as being pretty silly considering that she has the money advantage, the name recognition advantage, the connections, and we're at this historical moment where it seems like electing the first woman to the presidency is the obvious thing to do. The best I hope from this scenario is to avoid a Trump presidency, get a few supreme court justices, to maybe make some small token progressive gains, and to stave off the total insanity of the Republican congress for a few more years before we can hopefully win back congress.

The Sanders side on the other hand sees this as a moment of opportunity and thinks we can truly accomplish great things right now. That's a very optimistic and idealistic vision considering the republican controlled congress and the fact that Sanders is at a huge disadvantage in terms of money, name recognition, etc. But the cynical side is this idea that if that idealistic vision doesn't come to fruition, we should burn it all down. This idea that the party is too hopelessly corrupt, that Sanders is only losing because of fraud, that the system is out to get him, that democrats who support Clinton are dumb sheep or evil corporate shills.

So cynicism wasn't exactly the right word. The idea that you can't possibly work within the system because it's too corrupt is cynical, but the idea that you then need to totally reject realpolitik in favor of ideological purity is hopelessly, naively optimistic. It's a dangerous mix imo, that threatens to turn a generation of young people away from politics. And the underlying hypocrisy is that Sanders himself has been working within that very system for 35 years while selling himself as an outsider! I'm supposed to believe that Sanders made great progressive achievements during his time in congress, yet I'm also supposed to believe that the system is so hopelessly corrupt that it's impossible to enact progressive change from within the establishment? There's a fundamental contradiction there.

[JEB]

43. Nailed it. It's about the money. nt

[amborin]

21. attests to her incredible weakness as a candidate; and the public's distrust; she's had the M$M

shillling for her throughout, and burying Bernie, and yet.....she's barely clinging and will face a contested convention

[jillan]

22. One candidate had over 400 super delegates before anyone else even declared.

That right there speaks volumes about the head start she had.

[Cali_Democrat]

26. That actually gave Bernie the advantage considering the fact that it's an anti-establishment year

Just look at the GOP race.

Being a part of and/or receiving the support of "the establishment" is actually a hindrance and not an advantage.

Hillary beat Bernie with one hand tied behind her back because Bernie is a very weak candidate.

[cali]

27. Bwahaha. You hilly fans are the fantasists. And you delude yourself

into believing that you are the resist. It's hilly who has demonstrated how pathetically weak a nominee she is. Michael Dukakis minus the hard that. If anyone can blow this e l section it's your hilly.

[scscholar]

28. Sigh, the coattails argument again...

And again and again.

[Nye Bevan]

30. Someone who has been in Congress a quarter of a century isn't exactly coming out of nowhere.

Barack Obama's achievement was infinitely more impressive.

[Onlooker]

32. Rubio, Cruz, and others ran with all the advantages of incumbency ...

... but were slain by Donald Trump.

Maybe Trump is more talented than Bernie, since Bernie is obviously going to lose to Hillary?

[Art_from_Ark]

35. Rubio and Cruz were relatively unknown Senators, just like Bernie

And they were running against an anti-establishment candidate who has been in the public eye for decades.

[cherokeeprogressive]

38. I am SO glad to have you back.

[JoePhilly]

39. Whatever helps you guys get through this.

[ProfessorPlum]

40. agreed, it is amazing what he has accomplished, with no help

or the opposite of help, from the media and the party. His power arises from the people, and it is such that the establishment flunkies are still quaking in their boots about him.

Let's hope that we continue to find candidates that espouse his ideas, long after this election cycle.

[timmymoff]

41. No shit

it's like she started on 1st and goal and he started at his own twenty yard line.