We've all seen the short, poor-quality, video of Sanders saying "I am a socialist."

[MineralMan]

Here's the longer version of that video, where he also said he wanted to start a third party.

If Bernie Sanders becomes the nominee, this longer video will be seen hundreds of times by everyone, run by his opposition. It is on YouTube, but I had not encountered it before, having seen the shorter version many time.

Now, I have no problem with socialists at all. However, I do not think a socialist can be elected as President in this country.

Watch it, and imagine it on your TV screen again and again and again, because it will be.

[DanTex]

1. LOL. This is supposed to be damning?

30 years ago he said he wanted to start a third party that "represents a wide spectrum of people".

Game Over Bernie!!!

[Horizens]

6. Game Over Bernie

by Kurt Eichenwald, article from Nov. 2016)

(The Republican Playbook re sanders.)

So what would have happened when Sanders hit a real opponent, someone who did not care about alienating the young college voters in his base? I have seen the opposition book assembled by Republicans for Sanders, and it was brutal. The Republicans would have torn him apart. And while Sanders supporters might delude themselves into believing that they could have defended him against all of this, there is a name for politicians who play defense all the time: losers.


Then there's the fact that Sanders was on unemployment until his mid-30s,
that he stole electricity from a neighbor after failing to pay his bills,
that he co-sponsored a bill to ship Vermont's nuclear waste to a poor Hispanic community in Texas, where it could be dumped.
You can just see the words "environmental racist" on Republican billboards.
And if you can't, I already did. They were in the Republican opposition research book as a proposal on how to frame the nuclear waste issue.

Sanders violated campaign finance laws,
criticized Clinton for supporting the 1994 crime bill that he voted for,
he voted against the Amber Alert system.
His pitch for universal health care would have been used against him too, since it was tried in his home state of Vermont and collapsed due to excessive costs.
Worst of all, the Republicans also had video of Sanders at a 1985 rally thrown by the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua where half a million people chanted, "Here, there, everywhere/the Yankee will die,'' while President Daniel Ortega condemned "state terrorism" by America. Sanders said, on camera, supporting the Sandinistas was "patriotic."

The Republicans had at least four other damning Sanders videos (I don't know what they showed), and the opposition research folder was almost 2-feet thick. (The section calling him a communist with connections to Castro alone would have cost him Florida.) In other words, the belief that Sanders would have walked into the White House based on polls taken before anyone really attacked him is a delusion built on a scaffolding of political ignorance.

[MineralMan]

8. I saw your other post about that. You're right.

So far, nobody from the Republican side has presented any of that information to the general public. Why? Because they hope that Bernie Sanders will be the Democratic nominee. That's because they have all of that information and much, much more, that they will use to flood the country with.

The impact will be tremendous and not to Sanders' benefit at all.

[NurseJackie]

20. The ads will be endless... on a continuous loop... like this:

[DBoon]

14. I like many of Bernie's policies

I just don't believe he is electable once the smears start coming.

[PatSeg]

30. And we are electing a person

and Bernie does not seem to be the person, who can bring about the change he advocates. Also, watching how he runs his campaign, I'm not too confident in his leadership skills.

[LenaBaby61]

34. I just don't believe he is electable once the smears start coming.

Same here about Bernie's policies. Unfortunately we agree that once the REAL smearing/lies start, it'll be UGLY. If Bernie's the last Dem standing, I'll still vote for him.

You know that the party of putin's going to tRiple-smear him, then let the antisemitism start flowing, and probably do a nasty "opposition research" dump a week to a few days before November 3rd. How in hell can he and his camp combat those lies/smears the party of putin will drop on his doorstep a few days before the election? And just like with Hillary Clinton from 2016's GE, the mostly corporate media will RUN like Usain Bolt with the Bernie lies

The word Socialism has been allowed to be defined by the old GOP and now the party of putin. Oh how I wished Dems would have framed the narrative of that word instead of allowing the used to be GOP and now party of putin to frame it. Hell if Capitalism is the universal end all and be all, it means that almost ALL of the world's monies will be shuttled to the top of the Pear of 1%'ers and richest families, and almost nothing but crumbs will be at the bottom of the Pear for the rest of us to fight over.

[Devil Child]

12. How dare he!?!?

[MineralMan]

13. Pretty much, yes.

Not here. Not on DU. Nationally, though? Sanders would lose in a massive landslide. Trump would win 40 states, I'm sure. And that's just one video. There's much, much more in the oppo research that hasn't been widely disseminated. Probably less than 1% of voters have ever seen that Sanders video. 100% of voters, however, would see it this year, I guarantee.

You don't care. I don't care. Sanders is a socialist. That's fine with me. It won't be fine with a majority of voters, though.

[LanternWaste]

16. Glad you've never negatively referenced a 30-year old concern of an opposition candidate.

Oops... dammit. So sorry.

Your narratives are just so easily dismissed by holding what you say one day to what you said the day before.

[sheshe2]

26. +1000!

[Garrett78]

21. Much of what people think will hurt Sanders will either help or have no impact.

It stems from a misunderstanding of who so-called independents are, and both a misunderstanding and overestimation of swing voters.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

22. Lol

[redstateblues]

27. The electorate of the US won't be electing a Socialist in 2020

If Bernie wins the nomination the US will elect a sociopath before it elects a Socialist. You can poo poo it all you want but words have meaning and “Socialist” is toxic.

[Cha]

2. KR

[MineralMan]

7. Thanks. I have a suspicion that this post will be misunderstood, though.

So far, my suspicion has been shown to be correct.

My pragmatism always gets in the way, it seems.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

28. I understand

I keep thinking about that line in "All The President's Men"-


"They wanted to run against McGovern. Look who they're running against"

[TwilightZone]

3. Not sure it'll do much - he's essentially been in a third party for decades.

Independents aren't an established third-party, of course, but he's always sold himself as an entity distinct from the Democrats, even though he caucuses with them. He could probably brush this off by reminding everyone how independent he is.

[evertonfc]

4. Many more videos

that will kill his chances in Florida, especially. He isn't going to be the nominee of our party. He won't obtain the needed delegates. If it goes to convention, the party will not nominate a Democratic socialist that will cost of the WH and House seats.

[Scurrilous]

37. FL poll avgs.: He's in 3rd at 538 and 2nd at RCP behind Biden +24%. Only .7% out of 3rd.

He has little chance in Florida if he makes the GE. Lots of Latinos in Miami-Dade stood in bread/food lines at one point.

Florida Democratic Presidential Primary

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/fl/florida_democratic_presidential_primary-6847.html

[MineralMan]

5. It takes a majority of voters to elect a President.

And even then, the person who gets a majority of the vote sometimes doesn't become President.

There is a distinct prejudice against socialism in the United States. That exists and would play a role. Nothing against Bernie Sanders' political beliefs, but we really need to win this election. As I said, I have no problem with socialism, but I sure have a problem with Donald Trump as President.

[Sloumeau]

9. K&R

[MineralMan]

10. We desperately need to beat Trump in November.

Most voters have never seen that video or any of the other stuff the Trump campaign will use against Sanders. They're keeping that in the background, because they hope Sanders will become the nominee so they can bring it out and flood the airwaves and social media with it.

That would destroy our chances of defeating Trump, which is my sole goal in the 2020 election. I don't care if Sanders is a socialist. I like socialism. But a sellf-proclaimed socialist can't be elected as President here. Not now, anyhow.

[Devil Child]

11. Better than a video calling for PD throwing POC youths "to the wall"

[MineralMan]

15. You think so? I don't.

[melman]

17. Interesting

[Devil Child]

18. Yes n/t

[George II]

19. Is there such a video?

[Go Vols]

23. .

[MineralMan]

24. Buttons. Cool.

[calguy]

29. Naivety is strong with this one.

[Hekate]

40. I sincerely doubt that

[redstateblues]

31. That was 75 years ago. The electorate of the US will not be electing a Socialist in 2020

I’m fine with it but it’s become a toxic word

[Scurrilous]

42. FDR was not a socialist.

Socialist was a slur his opponents used against him. Calling FDR a socialist uses that slur to define him.

[Awsi Dooger]

25. Donald Trump will no longer be a topic if Sanders is the nominee

The fall campaign will be a nonstop referendum on Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party pushing socialism from every angle.

Sanders himself will be viewed as only the symbol, only the beginning. I feel sorry for anyone who can't project forward and step onto the situational stage at that point. Anything you believe about Sanders matching up against Trump one on one is out the window.

We become the nation's fear

[redstateblues]

32. Some pics of the successful Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, North Korea and Cuba

To name a few

[Hekate]

41. Possibly even the National Socialists. Yes, Bernie has chosen a really toxic word, regardless of...

...his no doubt pure intentions.

[myohmy2]

33. what I heard...

...was Bernie saying he was never a member of the Socialist or Communist Party...

...what he wanted was a 3rd Party (consider the state of affairs in 1989) representing a wide spectrum of people...

...what the hell is wrong with that?

...this doesn't even come close to, '...grab 'em by the pussy...'

...I think people are worrying to much...

...Bernie can easily handle it...

[ehrnst]

36. ...Socialist Workers Party....

...is indeed a Socialist organization...

...the GOP clearly gives Trump a pass on that video...

...but maybe not this....

From the Daily Beast:

In 1977, [Bernie Sanders] left the tiny left-wing Liberty Union Party of Vermont that he’d co-founded, and in 1980 instead aligned himself with the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the self-proclaimed Trotskyist revolutionary party, became its presidential elector in Vermont, and campaigned for its candidates and platform that defended the Iranian hostage seizure.

..........................................................................

Asked about the SWP in 1988, Sanders, then the mayor of Burlington and a congressional candidate, talked down the connection, saying that: “I was asked to put my name on the ballot and I did, that’s true." Today, no mention of Sanders’ association with the SWP appears in any campaign biography he has issued. But Sanders remained tied to the party after 1980. He was a featured speaker at a Boston rally for the SWP’s Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate and the party’s slate for Congress in 1982, the year after he was narrowly elected mayor of Burlington. In 1984, he again spoke on behalf of the SWP’s presidential candidate, this time former Black Panther Mel Mason, telling The Militant that “at a time when the Democratic and Republican parties are intellectually and spiritually bankrupt, it is imperative for radical voices to be heard which offer fundamental alternatives to capitalist ideology." It remains unclear when Sanders’s affiliation with the SWP ended.

https://news.yahoo.com/iran-took-americans-hostage-bernie-100052053.html

.....

[Gothmog]

35. There is a ton of oppo on sanders

I am very worried about down ballot races. sanders is a very weak candidate and would be easy for trump to destroy. In addition to the well written 101 page memorandum with oppo on sanders with a 1000 pages of backup from the Clinton campaign trump has his own oppo file on sanders that would destroy such a weak and divisive candidate like sanders.

Link to tweet

trump had a two foot thick book of oppo research on Sanders http://www.newsweek.com/myths-cost-democrats-presidential-election-521044

They ignored the fact that Sanders had not yet faced a real campaign against him. Clinton was in the delicate position of dealing with a large portion of voters who treated Sanders more like the Messiah than just another candidate. She was playing the long game—attacking Sanders strongly enough to win, but gently enough to avoid alienating his supporters. Given her overwhelming support from communities of color—for example, about 70 percent of African-American voters cast their ballot for her—Clinton had a firewall that would be difficult for Sanders to breach....

So what would have happened when Sanders hit a real opponent, someone who did not care about alienating the young college voters in his base? I have seen the opposition book assembled by Republicans for Sanders, and it was brutal. The Republicans would have torn him apart. And while Sanders supporters might delude themselves into believing that they could have defended him against all of this, there is a name for politicians who play defense all the time: losers....

The Republicans had at least four other damning Sanders videos (I don’t know what they showed), and the opposition research folder was almost 2-feet thick. (The section calling him a communist with connections to Castro alone would have cost him Florida.) In other words, the belief that Sanders would have walked into the White House based on polls taken before anyone really attacked him is a delusion built on a scaffolding of political ignorance.

sanders was such a weak primary candidate that the Clinton campaign did not use its oppo but trump would have fun destroying such a weak candidate like sanders

I will vote for the nominee of the party but I fear that the nomination of sanders will lead to a Speaker Kevin McCarthy

[gollygee]

38. And there's video of him talking about how successful Fidel Castro is

"Way back in—what was it?—1961, they invaded Cuba," Sanders said in the 1985 interview, "and everybody was totally convinced that Castro was the worst guy in the world and all of the Cuban people were going to rise up in rebellion against Fidel Castro. They forgot that he educated their kids, gave their kids health care, totally transformed the society," he pointed out.

https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-2020-cuba-castro-reagan-resurfaced-interview-1339527


GOODBYE FLORIDA

[LeftTurn3623]

39. here come the scare tactics

[Gothmog]

43. Sanders would kill down ballot candidates

Link to tweet