All the way to the convention, Bernie!

[DanTex]

Bernie's movement is obviously the future of the Democratic party, just look at the age breakdowns in voting. People complaining and demanding that he drop out this week or next, sorry, it's not going to happen. He has every right to keep campaigning and pushing his progressive message.

Also, no, Bernie isn't going to do anything stupid like run third-party or refuse to endorse Biden or anything like that. He's going to support the nominee, like he always said he would, and like he did in 2016.

Beating Trump is of paramount importance. Building a progressive movement for the future is also of paramount importance. By continuing to campaign, Bernie is working towards both those ends.

Plus, as a side benefit, it's fun watching centrists on twitter and supposedly "moderate" Republicans freak out over every little thing he does.

[NurseJackie]

1. Ha!

[jimfields33]

47. Keep laughing. It's a joke I guess.

[apcalc]

61. He has a right to stay in.

Should he be mathematically
eliminated, he should drop out and work to unite the party.
Then we can all move on to defeat Trump.

Save ourselves, save the planet!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

66. Those sowing the seeds of divisiveness will be the first to deny responsibility!!

Last edited Thu Mar 26, 2020, 02:43 AM - Edit history (1)

We will need to unite at some point to have any hope of defeating the Fascist-in-Chief!!


Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together & can't be bought!!
Jump on the Bernie Bandwagon & join the revolution!!

[msongs]

88. there is only one group keeps attacking the democratic party and the majority of its members nt

[Aquaria]

195. Wow. The projection is astounding.

[trueblue2007]

119. he could get sick !!!! i think for the good of himself & family he should quit

i don't want him, his supporters of family to get sick.
BERNIE, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, JUST QUIT.

[zonkers]

183. Uh, so could Joe.

[trueblue2007]

198. Uh, Bernie has a heart condition now. Joe doesn't. Uh, JOE IS WAY AHEAD & BERNIE CAN'T CATCH UP

UH, UH, UH, for the good of the country, it's my believe that Senator Bernie Sanders should stop his run for the presidency RIGHT NOW.

[cwydro]

49. No kidding.

Seems some are fine with the tangeranus as president. Smh.

[HarlanPepper]

2. Burn it all down!111

[Lanius]

3. The "future" could happen a lot sooner if young people and progressives would vote.

[DanTex]

6. That's true. Youth turnout is a problem.

[squirecam]

23. So why is that?

I though his campaign was based upon high youth turnout?

[zackymilly]

166. A lot of new video games have been released lately. n/t

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

168. Maybe young (much younger than me) don't care much for the drudgery of voting. ...

... but they seem to love the interaction of caucusing.

Bernie does great in caucus states.

How do we get out the youth vote?

[Blue_true]

112. So if they "care" so much, why aren't they voting?

Nothing in life is free.

[Stand and Fight]

77. Progressives are voting. Just not exclusively for Sanders.

[Demguy81]

4. Bernie voter here

Staying in until the convention, with no chance of victory is stupid. I'm all for building a progressive movement, fortunately, that does not require staying in a race you are destined to lose.

[PatSeg]

8. Welcome to DU!

Biden's plans are already left of Obama's and with the right congress, we can may serious positive changes! A president can only accomplish as much as he/she can get through congress!

[DanTex]

10. Why not? What's the harm?

Bernie pushes his message, stays in the news, gives people like AOC more visibility, keeps holding rallies. That's what building a progressive movement is.

[Demguy81]

14. He can already do that.

Why would him dropping out change that? All it would do is delay a national campaign against Trump.

[DanTex]

18. Staying in the race gives him much more visibility.

And I don't see why delaying the national campaign against Trump is necessarily a bad thing. It could be either good or bad.

[Demguy81]

20. No, it doesn't

And yes, delaying a national campaign is bad.

[DanTex]

59. Why is delaying the national campaign bad?

[LanternWaste]

60. Why is unity bad?

(see? we can both pretend our questions are relevant despite common dense)

[DanTex]

62. Unity is good.

[FloridaBlues]

89. It's bad because the voters matter more than the Bernie "movement ".

You can't just put aside the majority of we the people for a convention fight.

[Meadowoak]

134. More than half the states haven't even voted yet.

[Aquaria]

197. Do you not know how to do math?

27 states have voted. And they voted against your hero.

The remaining 23 states?

If you count Wisconsin and Ohio as red states (which both seem to be now), then 13 of the remaining states are red states, where they want nothing to do with a self-proclaimed socialist. Still, BS might get Wyoming, because it's a caucus state. But that's only, what, 14 delegates, total? Whoa! Biden must be so scared of not winning there! Whatever will he do by winning a majority of the 645 remaining delegates?

Biden will win in Pennsylvania because he was born and raised there, and Delaware won't vote against their own former Senator. There's another 207 delegates Sanders couldn't get the majority of.

Catholic Rhode Island will give the majority of their 51 delegates to Catholic Biden.

If BS couldn't win VA, he won't win Maryland (96 delegates) or DC (20). The Democratic base in all three consists of federal workers who have zero love for him + African-Americans, and we know what they think of BS. Which isn't much.

If Mr Grinch couldn't win MA or WA, he won't win the majority of the whopping 460 delegates in CT, NJ, or NY. They're all more alike than they're not in their demographics and voting behavior.

What's left? Some of the territories. Yeah, the nomination hinges on BS winning in Puerto Rico (51), Guam (7), and the Virgin Islands (7). But, fine, have those if you want them.

The only states besides Wyoming where BS might eke out a win are Oregon (61 delegates) Hawaii (24) or New Mexico (34). I wouldn't count on the Hispanic vote in NM if I were you. Their demographics and voting behavior is closer to that of South Texas and El Paso. Don't get excited at how BS "won" Greater Austin, El Paso and so many of those South Texas counties, though. Because that was an illusion. What won for him wasn't increased Hispanic enthusiasm but vote splitting. If Bloomberg hadn't been in the race, Biden would have won none of the border counties, and would have lost in Austin and San Antonio, too. If you compare 2020 to 2016 numbers, population growth explains what little increase BS got in votes along the border. And when you dig deeper into California's numbers, it's the same story--Take Bloomberg out, and Biden wins the state. Take Klobuchar and Buttgieg off the ballot, and Biden would have won by double digits.

There was no Hispanic revolution for BS. He should thank Bloomberg for letting him pretend to still be relevant. That's why I think NM will go for Biden, not Sanders, but I'll be nice and still give BS their votes.

I was almost tempted to put Oregon in the category with MA, WA, CT, NJ and NY, because the state is very much the same as them, demographics-wise, but I decided to be nice here, too, and give him the pity win.

So let's see where we stand: Biden wins in states with a total of 1479 delegates. BS wins states with a total of 198 delegates. If you give only 51% to each candidate for the states he wins, that gives BS 826 more delegates. Add that to his current total of 896, for 1722 delegates. This isn't looking good. Even if all of Elizabeth Warren's 83 delegates threw their votes behind him, he'd still only have 1805 delegates....Oh dear. 1805 is a whole lot less than the 1991 delegates necessary to score the nomination!

Meanwhile Biden would get 754 of the delegates in states he won, and then 97 in the states he lost. Add that to the 1201 delegates he has now, and that's 2052. Nomination secured. No second ballot needed. No super delegates needed. Not even a need for the 91 Bloomberg, Buttgieg or Klobuchar delegates to throw their support behind Biden, even though they probably would.

And here's what's sad: The delegate count on the first ballot will probably be even higher for Biden--FAR HIGHER--than my participation trophy count. I wouldn't be surprised if he won by 60% or more in Pennsylvania, Delaware, RI and several of the red states.

But keep dreaming the impossible dream there!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

91. It's not!!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together & can't be bought!!
Jump on the Bernie Bandwagon & join the revolution!!

[leftieNanner]

56. If Bernie were merely running his platform

that's one thing. But he is trashing Biden in the process too. Damaging either one of our potential nominees is folly. It just gives the Trump campaign sound bites to use in their ads.

[Lulu KC]

129. +1

[sop]

177. That's a big part of Bernie's Movement...trashing the Democratic party

[Jarqui]

95. It is bad for a few basic reasons

1. The Democratic party would be continuing to spend money on the primary instead of banking it for the general election. That's pure waste on Bernie's long shot/ego. It should be focusing on fundraising for the general starting now.

2. The party needs to come together. The sooner it does, the better - less acrimony. Dragging this out for no useful purpose will incense and deepen the divide between the two camps and hurt the party more for the general election.

3. The party has to staff up for the general. Try to consolidate ground games, etc. The sooner that happens, the better organized and staffed they will be for the general election.

4. The party has to plan, document it's policies, and organize how it is going to win the general and assist the down ballot contests. Extending the primary delays that.

5. For the balance of the primary, Bernie is going to be taking shots at our prospective nominee - doing Donald Trump favors. Instead, the focus could shift now to starting to grind down Trump

Bernie has less than one tenth of one percent chance of winning ... before yesterday's results. His chances are worse today. We know what Bernie's policies are. We've been listening to them for 5-6 years if not his whole career. What good does Bernie continuing the primary do for the party or the prospective nominee? Not much I can think of.

[aquamarina]

130. Great post - spot on.

[Demsrule86]

159. +100000

[John Fante]

99. What's the harm? Did you miss the 2016 Democrtic convention?

[eilen]

165. Oh, right. Because saving the nation is secondary. It is all about Bernie nt

[Triloon]

55. What delay?

I've been campaigning against Trump for the last 5 years. Haven't we all? There's no delay.
In the mean time there are millions and millions of democratic voters who want to be sure that their views are represented at the party convention, and to have our views included in our party's platform.
Just look at all the contempt that is shown to Sanders voters here. We should shut up, give up, and get in line? And let Biden voters represent our views?
We know that they won't. That's been shown right here on DU.

[Meadowoak]

135. +1000

[Aquaria]

139. Primaries have been determined early on long before your fake savior showed up

It's how it is. People in the states that get their primaries later in the process get over it. They always have.

Try doing the same, rather than being such whiny sore losers.

[LanternWaste]

163. "The democratic party is not your private club, though you might wish it were..."

Ironic, no?

[Triloon]

164. you're quoting one of my earlier posts, but

I cant tell if you're being sarcastic or not. Either way, I'm not asserting who is or isn't a Real Democrat, but I think allowing each and every person to vote and seek representation is a basic principle that shouldn't fall before the impatience of wanting to unseat the impeached president.
Calls to "get over it" and "stop whining" are Limbaugh-speak that No True Scotsman should respect. Well, I don't anyway, but I'm hearing quite a lot of it.

[LizBeth]

37. They are promoting Biden is senile, the are attacking Democratic leaders and us voters.

What's the harm? Really?

[DanTex]

42. No "they" aren't. Bernie's talking about issues.

[Happy Hoosier]

116. His senior staffers do.

You can’t claim he’s innocent while he allows his most senior minions to launch the most vile attacks. It’s completely dishonest.

[LizBeth]

136. Dishonest, yes.

[frazzled]

48. Because only egomaniacal, self-righteous autocrats do that

And it accomplishes nothing except harm to the general objective: defeating Trumpism. He is indeed a camera hog, and revels in surrounding himself with crowds of young fans, just like most autocrats do. But it's not a good thing. It's about self-aggrandizement and lack of introspection, nothing else.

[DanTex]

58. How does it harm the general objective of defeating Trump?

I'd say that motivating progressives actually helps to defeat Trump.

Also, I'd argue that people who demean Bernie and his supporters might be harming that general objective. Of course, some people here seem to think that Biden doesn't need Bernie's supporters to beat Trump, and if that's true, then who cares what Bernie does?

[frazzled]

64. We're not falling for that this time

And the threat that "Biden needs Bernie's supporters to beat Trump" is falling on deaf ears. It's a kind of bullying we acceded to in 2016, and we've learned our lesson. Threaten all you want. I, for one, don't really care.

[DanTex]

67. I'm not threatening anything. I'm just saying it's good for Bernie to keep campaigning.

I certainly didn't say "Biden needs Bernie's supporters to beat Trump". It's up to Biden whether he thinks he needs Bernie's supporters to beat Trump, I'm not trying to tell Biden what to do.

[frazzled]

90. If you and Bernie want to retain the young voters to fight Trump

The best way to do it would be to concede the election after the next round of big-state primaries on March 17, and to tell his voters to get thoroughly behind Biden and vote for him in November.

He never really did that in 2016. He quietly dropped out (he never officially conceded), said he would "help" Hillary Clinton, but then just went on to give his own stump speeches about the 1% for the following months.

He needs to specifically endorse, encourage, and most importantly, get off the main stage.

[Aquaria]

148. Worse

He did effectively ZERO to help down ballot candidates with their races, unlike Hillary, who always included local candidates at her events and did her best to help them get elected. And unlike all the years she toiled for candidates before that as well.

And another thing: Just where was the great whiteboi savior in 2015 when the Democratic party was looking for candidates and trying to get their campaigns off the ground? How many lousy chicken dinners did he endure at mindless fundraiser after mindless fundraiser to support future candidates and/or the party during all those downtimes between elections--which too many people don't get are vital to preparing for the next election? Because I know for a fact that Hillary was there forcing herself to swallow down yet more rubber chicken to lend her support while BS was fricking nowhere to be found.

These bernbros have zero clue about how much hard work it is to be in a party. They have zero clue of how much hard work has to go into finding and preparing candidates for upcoming races. They talk as big as Dolt45 about what they want to do, but, just like him, are nowhere to be found when the party needs the hard work done to make things happen.

This is why, if the DNC hates BS, it's because he only wants to take from them, while doing precious little giving back. He refuses to do what people in a party need: to back each other up and help each other win, so that the country wins. Nobody can do it alone. It takes a team effort. It takes sweat and tears and hard, hard work.

And that's something he seems incapable of comprehending.

[HarlanPepper]

81. Resources, for one thing.

Resources he has to spend beating an opponent that is already beaten are resources that won't be used in the general election. Another contentious scene at the convention, which I gather you're fine with, would not be helpful either.

Snark and false bravado aside, you know it's over. The question is how much do you care about what happens after that?

[Codeine]

106. Losing primary after bruising primary

is not going to mobilize them against Trump, it will just turn their energy into anger that they will turn on the person who keeps beating them county by county and state by state.

I suspect that’s what some of his supporters are hoping for.

[Aquaria]

140. Blackmailing us to chum for votes will not work any better than it did in 2016

Biden has the base (women and minorities) behind him, and he'll do quite well with those people in the squishy moderate middle who truly care about the country. You know, those people whom far too many berners treat with so much contempt, but who tend to decide who wins in November. The sane ones in your midst will do what's right, regardless of whether or not anyone kisses their feet for votes. Which won't be happening, so don't expect it. If you are a real liberal, you'll do the right thing and crawl over broken glass to vote for Biden. I have faith that most of the BS supporters are sane enough to vote for Biden because they understand what's at stake for this country if he doesn't win, rather than being petulant children throwing tantrums to get what you want and threatening to take your toys and go home if you don't get your way.

Try living up to that good will, m'kay?

[Aquaria]

145. Also: If you're not already motivated to defeat Dolt45 this year

Regardless of BS, then you aren't a real liberal. You're a poser or a traitor.

Or both.

[sheshe2]

94. "keeps holding rallies"???

Bernie pushes his message, stays in the news, gives people like AOC more visibility, keeps holding rallies.

You do watch the news, correct? We are in a pandemic, the situation is critical. People are dying and we are only at the beginning of this. Yesterday on MSNBC an expert said we are 8-15 days behind Italy. Do know how many new cases they had today...2300. Events are being cancelled everywhere, including both Biden and Sanders rallies. The debate Sunday will be televised without a live audience.

[Codeine]

104. Because every loss humiliates and angers

his flock, increasing the likelihood that they will bolt to a third party or the Tangerine Idi Amin. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they don’t deal with loss well at all.

[Blue_true]

113. Did you play the Black Night in the Holy Grail movie? nt

[dawg day]

127. As long as he doesn't slang Biden...

But he will, giving trump talking points
He would need to be very disciplined, focusing on his issues, not on Biden. He would have to stop acting like Democrats are the enemy.

Can he do that? If not, I think if he really cares about progressive causes, he should give up. He can do more harm than good if he continues to show anger at Democrats.

[LaurenOlimina]

79. welcome

[progressoid]

83. cool story bro.

[dawg day]

176. Yes, the movement couldn't just be Bernie--

Younger candidates have to move forward, and I suspect it would help if he receded into elder statesman status and let them take over.

[The Magistrate]

178. The Man Does Not want To Be John The Baptist, Sir

He wants to be the Christ....




"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

[dawg day]

179. Great analogy!

Age does get us all.... time is limited.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. You mean the young voters he was counting on who didn't vote?

[fleabiscuit]

7. Ya, I laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh too.....

[chillfactor]

9. You are funny.....

[HarlanPepper]

15. What's also funny

Is that the OP was hiding last night as Bernie was getting pummeled. I bet you won't see them here next Tuesday night either.

[John Fante]

11. Why would Republicans freak out over Bernie refusing to

Last edited Wed Mar 11, 2020, 04:37 PM - Edit history (1)

concede? It helped them four years ago, there's no reason to think it won't help them again.

[DanTex]

12. Because Republicans hate Bernie's progressive message.

[TwilightZone]

24. They hate everything Democratic.

Here we go with the "Bernie is so unique" argument again.

It's not just Bernie. It's everything that isn't Republican.

[DanTex]

27. Not really. People like Frum, Rubin, Kristol seem to have a particular dislike for Bernie.

Which makes sense, he stands for the opposite of all the right-wing policies they have spent their lives promoting.

[Demsrule86]

122. Gop types love Berie ...he is destined to lose and it seems divide.

[RandySF]

13. What is a primary without Bernie attacking the nominee for the next four months?

[FirstLight]

16. Exactly

The age breakdown is so obvious... I'm really over being told that the Boomers know more than us
It's time for real change!

[Turin_C3PO]

26. If you want to have a say, you gotta vote.

And Millennials, by and large, didn’t turn out for Sanders. I say this as a millennial who has voted since I was 18.

[FirstLight]

29. Gen X actually 😉

And you'd be surprised at the passion in many younger voters... like gen Z

[Turin_C3PO]

31. They may have passion

but hardly any of them have turned out in this primary. Some states it was as low as 10%, I believe.

[violasays]

70. I'm Gen Z

It's anecdotal, but me and my friends preferred Inslee and then Yang. Most of the people on my TL who are pro-Bernie are older Millennials in their 30s. Other Gen Z people I know personally are already making peace with Biden as the nominee.

[Codeine]

110. Gen Z kids are pretty cool.

The ones I’m raising are little liberal hellcats.

[HarlanPepper]

45. Guess what I'm over?

Smug ideologues telling old people and voters of color they don't matter because they are rejecting Bernie's movement in droves.

[Codeine]

108. This GenXer suggests that you might be less ignored

if you ever bothered to vote in any significant numbers.

[Docreed2003]

17. You know what would have done more for Bernie and his movement than anything else?

Having the strength and the class to step aside today. He has no realistic path for obtaining the nomination. Had he chosen to suspend his campaign, he would have been able to show a level of humility and offer a sign of unity with Biden. But no, in typical fashion, it's damn the torpedoes full speed ahead for Bernie. He will do nothing going forward other than continue to spur on his base and alienate even more folks who might have been sympathetic to his positions.

[ThisIsNotPossible]

38. The thing that gets me is that a Trump win this year torpedoes the progressive cause

and potentially for generations. A 7-2, fiercely ideological right-wing court? It'll find justification to kill any remotely left-wing legislation put in front of it. It will also be near-impossible for a majority of that size to be fully overturned. It would be far more likely that it goes 8-1 or 9-0 RW than all the way back to 5-4 liberal. There would be zero point in a hypothetical left wing saviour running, let alone winning.

Beyond that, what would a second Trump win mean? The most extreme right-wing administration in history, a President with abysmal approval ratings and, in all likelihood, a faltering economy rewarded with a second term? It would probably be correct to infer from such a devastating result that Americans - at least the ones who turn up to vote - want something considerably more conservative than the Democratic Party has offered in recent years. The onus would be on the party to move considerably to the right of where Joe Biden's platform will be this year.

[oasis]

186. +1....and Welcome to DU.

[SiliconValley_Dem]

19. He should spend countless hours bringing home to his supporters why they should vote in Nov

[DanTex]

22. And he will, after the convention. But until then, it's still the primary.

[George II]

34. Biden's lead will increase after each and every primary from now through June.....

....he'll reach 1991 sometime in mid-April.

[DanTex]

40. OK, so what's the worry?

[George II]

46. In the meantime he'll spend the next month bashing me and many other Democrats....

And even worse, his people on twitter, instagram, facebook will do untold damage to Biden and the Democratic Party.

Gray was already doing so at 2:30 AM this morning on twitter, Sirota joined later in the morning. He even did it himself in his speech at 1 PM this afternoon.

[HarlanPepper]

50. You don't count.

Older voters don't count. Black voters who have rejected him in droves don't count. That's what we learned today.

[Aquaria]

149. Women apparently don't count, either

We're voting against him in droves.

Funny how the people doing the actual voting are voting against him. It's like we know a shameless panderer to unearned white male privilege when we see one or something.

[redstateblues]

73. Can't wait to hear Bernie triple down on his praise for Fidel before the FL primary

I know you live by polls-have you seen the polls for the upcoming primary in FL?

[SiliconValley_Dem]

41. He is DONE! Go ahead and ask people for their vote but stop negative attacks

If he and his campaign say one more word about Dem establishment rigging things or Joe is bad, then they don’t really believe their own ideas.

The time people listen to Bernie is NOW when he’s still a candidate—not after convention.

[Aquaria]

142. Too little, too late.

By refusing to step aside when he has no chance of winning--which he doesn't, he's only dividing the party and riling up the worst of his supporters even worse than he already has.

But expecting a severe berner to grasp reality is asking too much, I know.

[TwilightZone]

21. "Bernie's movement"

And therein lies the problem. When the movement is centered around one person and that person fails to make progress, the movement has nowhere to go. Bernie's movement can't be the future of the Democratic party when it's clearly stagnating, if not in decline. His support this cycle was roughly half that of 2016, even after it became a two-person race.

The first solution to that problem is to decentralize it and find a group of people who can represent it appropriately. And stop calling it Bernie's movement. It's the progressive movement, if nothing else.

Secondly, consistent attacks on people who would otherwise be staunch allies, like Elizabeth Warren, need to stop. I would have never believed that it would be possible to alienate Elizabeth Warren, but Bernie's movement managed to do so, quite decisively.

Third, disassociate with idiots like the dirtbag left and Cenk Uygur. Get a handle on the worst of the movement, including people like David Sirota and Briahna Joy Gray. They are doing nothing but undermining the cause. If you want a place to start, make a list of everyone on the campaign that pushed the "dementia" conspiracy theory and get rid of them.

Otherwise, Bernie's movement is the future of nothing other than Bernie's movement. Democratic voters and left-leaning Independents have pretty clearly rejected the idea that it's the present, much less the future.

[DanTex]

25. It's always odd when people who are opposed to Bernie's movement give advice as to

what he should be doing differently.

[LanternWaste]

44. Ten bucks say you fail to see the irony in your having allged that.

Again.

[George II]

52. And yet he, who is opposed to the Democratic Party, has been telling it (US!)....

....for the last five years what we should be doing differently.

[MontanaMama]

132. You know what's odd?

Followers of “Bernie’s Movement” that doesn’t mean fuck all because he doesn’t have a realistic plan to get any of it done. Bernie doesn’t have a history of getting much accomplished other than getting folks all worked up at his rallies. Maybe he should spend some time writing and passing actual legislation and get back to us. The rest is noise.

[Aquaria]

143. It's odd when people refuse to heed constructive advice

To cling to their delusions in support of someone who is LOSING a race. There is no winning. I could explain to you why, but I doubt you will accept hearing the cold, hard truth.

You'd think that ya'll would want to know how to win, rather than going further down in flames.

But it gives you more comfort to be the chronically aggrieved of the entitled, rather than facing reality.

[Demsrule86]

157. There is not movement and never was.

[janterry]

28. He's a mensch

and will leave a legacy that makes me proud

[HarlanPepper]

33. Yes

Tremendous post offices.

[janterry]

35. I'm stating my opinion

He really does.

[Aquaria]

144. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

What legacy?

What the hell does he have to show for 30 years in DC?

A bunch of bills passed naming post offices?

You call that a legacy?

Sam Rayburn is laughing from his grave at the very idea of that being deemed a legacy of legislative achievement.

[janterry]

146. I don't know why you (and others)

have the need to be so rude?

I understand that you think Biden is a competent leader. That's fine. I am not 'laughing' at you. I believe you hold your opinions sincerely and are probably very nice.

I don't have any anger - or sarcasm for you.

Peace.

[Aquaria]

152. Please

After all the hate and bile that your candidate and his supporters have leveled at those who don't follow your fraud of a pied piper--including at this very press conference, where he basically said Biden voters are too stupid to know their own minds or how to vote?

GTFOH.

Most people don't take kindly to having their intelligence or their integrity trashed that way.

And don't even get me started on how much contempt I hold your candidate and his supporters in for acting like he has any kind of new ideas or a unique message but we the great unwashed are just too stupid to get it. Because he has no such thing. His M4A is a fricking JOKE--ask anyone who has Medicare. They will be more than happy to oblige you with tales about how awful it is without supplemental policies. Maybe if that self-serving fraud had to depend on it for his own health care, or you were old enough to qualify for it--or knew someone who did, all of you would know better than to peddle that garbage idea to anyone.

Worse, Ted Kennedy had a better and more comprehensive plan in the fricking 70s that he ran on in 1980. And his entire platform was FAR--FAR--more liberal than anything your fake savior can muster up now. Sheesh, Dennis Kucinich and Paul Wellstone had better ideas and concrete plans for enacting a REAL liberal agenda than BS could ever dream of.

So if you want to know why we're sick of the bullshit that BS and his lackeys are peddling at us, now you know why. Stop insulting us, our experience, institutional knowledge, intelligence and integrity, or expect to get more backlash.

[George II]

30. What's the point? According to 538 Biden will win all the remaining states/territories.....

The final tally will Biden 48, Sanders 7.5, Buttigieg 1.5

[comradebillyboy]

32. Because that strategy worked so well in 2016, eh?

[comradebillyboy]

69. That was perfectly obvious four years ago.

Nothing has changed.

[MrsCoffee]

147. We who?

Many of us have known who he is all along.

[LanternWaste]

39. So when you say "it's obvious", that's your way of saying "I have no data to support this"

But I get it... telling us how entertained you are by "centrists" (we can easily guess your implication) "freaking out" is part and parcel of the unity you so righteously lectured us about as recently as last week.



I dig how you hold others to a higher standard you hold yourself to... your consistency in doing so is surpassed only by your denial of the same.

But sure... tomorrow or the day after, you'll be calling for unity through disunity again. Our chocolate rations have increased by 2 grams thanks to your post.

[njhoneybadger]

43. Republicans are not freaking out they're cheering him on.

That's real fucking funny. Yes, he has every right to keep campaigning. I remember Ralph Nader saying the same thing.

[George II]

57. His biggest fan is donald trump.

[Aaron Pereira]

51. Absolutely.

The delegate count is still close and the issues Bernie's supporters care about need to be addressed by Biden's campaign to achieve some kind of closure before the convention.

Also, we've got another three months of campaigning left before the voices of primary voters are heard in their totality. Biden still needs to show he is up to the task of a general election against Trump.

[beachbumbob]

53. future? If its all about the party, sure. If its about actually voting and DOING stuff, not likely

[rzemanfl]

54. Hoping for five. n/t

[awesomerwb1]

63. Shocker

It’s a cult. Bernard can do no wrong.
Hope he gets humiliated next week.

If anyone doubted the fanaticism of some Bernard “supporters”..... here you go.

Bernie over country. Burn it down.

[totodeinhere]

65. And Bernie's overriding message remains the need to get rid of Trump. He says it in

every speech and every interview.

[HarlanPepper]

72. And then, by his actions, works to make sure that doesn't happen.

Talk is cheap.

[totodeinhere]

87. Oh come on. He is not working to make sure that Trump gets reelected.

Give me a break. Was Joe Biden making sure that Trump gets elected when he criticized other Democrats in the race?

[Demsrule86]

123. If he meant it he would concede.

[totodeinhere]

125. Not if he believes that the nominee will loose to Trump unless he moves to the left.

I think it's pretty presumptuous of you to assume you know what Bernie means.

[MrsCoffee]

150. If that were true people would be voting for Bernie over Joe. They aren't.

Bernie logic is as bad as Bernie math FFS.

[Demsrule86]

155. Actions speak louder than words...he knows what he is doing...and he would have won if voters wanted

to move left...he was destroyed on super Tuesday, on big Tuesday, the poll indicate next week will be a disaster for Sanders...and when I vote in Ohio the week after that more...losses for Sanders. As the losses mount, his influence will wane and that will be a good thing. People would have voted for him if they cared about his so called revolution or policy. Time to get out and stop embarrassing himself. The country never agreed with him in any real way.

[rufus dog]

68. You may want to think about that last paragraph

It is the exact things MAGAts say about tRump owning the libs.

[Demsrule86]

71. If he goes to the convention, Trump wins.

A terrible legacy because one more judge,and everything he advocates for will never become law. We could lose our Republic.

[Stand and Fight]

74. LOL... Seems like some people will never learn. Wowzers!

[SidDithers]

75. He can stay in...

and be embarrassingly defeated in every primary leading up to the convention.

In the process, he'll lose any influence he has on party or platform.

Sid

[LaurenOlimina]

76. Yup.

[The Polack MSgt]

78. He's going to support the nominee, like he always said he would, and like he did in 2016.

Yeah. exactly "like he did in 2016."

That is one of the reasons we are so pissed off.

We remember what his support looked like and how it compared to that extra 3 months of attacks on Secretary Clinton.

I suppose we can look forward to his surrogates -again - advising people to vote 3rd party or to excuse them if they skip voting altogether... Again

So have fun watching him attack the presumptive candidate and feel free to get you kicks ridiculing "Moderates"

That is one hell of a side benefit to look forward to DanTex

[guillaumeb]

80. What happened in the contested primary process of 2008?

No. The process remains the same no matter which candidates are in it.

[TheCowsCameHome]

82. Is this a paid political advertisement?

I sure hope DU gets something out of this endless BernieBoosting.

[mercuryblues]

84. Yes, because it worked out so well last time.

This time around they can also boo Hillary, just for shits and giggles.

[PubliusEnigma]

85. You're really going to teach us a lesson this time, eh?!?

We expect children to throw fits when they don't get their way.

Bernie is really old, though. What's his excuse?

[BlueJac]

86. Feel the burn, ouch

[karynnj]

92. Were you troubled in the least by his press conference?

I waited a few hours trying to define what made me so negative on the last part of the conference where he addressed Joe Biden on all the issues. Typical campaign -- could be, but why did it make me uncomfortable?

I think I can articulate why. His questions took HIS version of every Democratic goal implying that if Biden could not say he would and could achieve that -- it was a problem. The entire laundry list was basically everything Democrats, including Biden, have fought for for decades - all stated as if Biden were against them.

It ignores that Biden actually worked in the Obama administration for many of these. ACA, which Sanders essentially trashes, was a big deal - and it was something that could easily have failed - as it did many times before. Why did Obama not get M4A - Bernie Sanders himself noted at that time that there were only about 10 Senators who would vote for it.

Another issue is that Sanders leaped on "The Green New Deal" leading some activist groups to give him an A+ on the issue. Yet, he was not in the forefront of this at any time in the House (Markey was) or in the Senate. As to Biden - the Obama administration worked hard on three fronts. 1) They tried to get legislation, but failed in the Senate even though Kerry and Boxer did get a group of Republicans behind it - they could not get some coal state Democrats, some progressives - even when Sherrod Brown was behind it and worked to get provisions to help those states. 2) Without legislation other than an amendment to a bigger bill improving car standards, they did a huge amount through the EPA with two excellent EPA heads (Jackson and Gina McCarthy). 3) Led by John Kerry they managed to get almost every country to sign onto the Paris Accord. Compared to this what did Sanders do - Bubkis!

This could get very long going issue by issue, but the point is that Sanders characterization of the issues - implicitly placing himself for and Biden against is completely dishonest. It also ignores that Sanders is smart enough to know that the changes that he and Biden want are in the same direction and that he was completely unlikely to be able to get the things he demands from Biden from Congress.

[secondwind]

93. I'm sure Bernie will support the nominee.... it's his followers who may have a problem.

[NYC Liberal]

96. Bernie ain't the future. Far from it. Voters overwhelmingly rejected him

4 years ago, and they are doing so again. He has not increased turnout. His message has fizzled (again). The more people get to know him, the less they like him. And he just doesn’t get anything done.

[DanTex]

97. Older voters rejected him. Younger voters supported him by huge margins.

He, along with AOC and other progressives are the future.

[redstateblues]

102. LOL! Look at the election % that is the youth vote. It's pitiful

They didn’t show up for Bernie. In 2016 Bernie won MI because everybody hated Hillary. Bernie had less in 2020 than he had in 2016. Everybody loved Bernie’s rock concerts, they just don’t vote.

[Kaleva]

107. Younger voters didn't come out to vote. The youth vote was the smallest demographic

At least that's what it was in Michigan.

https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/state/michigan/polling

Compared to 2016, Sander's support from the 18-29 demographic has actually declined.

https://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/michigan/exit/

[Demsrule86]

156. The younger voters didn't show up and it doesn't matter...Sanders lost badly both on super Tuesday

and big Tuesday and he will lose next week and the week after that ...stick a fork in his chances...Sanders is finished...the only question now is how he goes out and the legacy he leaves behind...will it be one of fighting for the Democratic nominee and saving the Republic or helping to elect fascist Trump? Time will tell.

[ehrnst]

170. AOC Backed Away from Sanders Campaign after Joe Rogan Endorsement.

https://news.yahoo.com/pulling-teeth-aoc-backed-away-165225992.html

The Bernie Sanders Youth Revolution Was Nowhere to Be Found on Super Tuesday

[Gothmog]

181. So is John Lewis going to be booed again at this convention??

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[NNadir]

98. Yeah. Sanders has declared himself our future by pointing out how...

...stupid we are when we don't vote for him.

Obviously he is unimpressed by how we vote, since our votes don't matter as much as his self importance and certitude about how much more insightful than we are.

If this reminds you of he-who-must-not-be-named who is destroying our country, you may be paying too much attention to reality. Nothing is more important than Sanders tired old half a century old call for revolution.

Not justice.

Not the climate.

Not children in cages.

Nothing.

The revolution is being televised, mostly on Fox News, where they're salivating over the possibility of Sanders attack on Democrats.

[sheshe2]

100. Great post. nt

[stonecutter357]

101. BS has lost time to get over it and move on !

[IluvPitties]

103. He lost. Biden won.

It is time to coalesce around Biden.

[tarheelsunc]

105. Pretty bleak "future" if he can't even inspire them to vote. eom

[Blue_true]

109. Until those young voters consistently out vote their older

peers, Sanders' movement is not the future. Some of those young people will become more realistic once they shoulder full responsibility in life.

[honest.abe]

111. The GOP's wet dream.

Thanks Bernie!

[Codeine]

114. I can't imagine why he thinks

getting the snot pounded out of him over and over and over and over again does anything to advance the validity or durability of his core beliefs, but you do you, fam.

I personally think he’s just humiliating himself and further radicalizing the worst of his fan base to fight against Biden in the general. Maybe that’s his end goal. Maybe it’s yours. I don’t pretend to understand his motivation at this point.

[Piratedog]

115. Well it is the future of 30% of the party.

[ucrdem]

117. Only in fantasy land. nt

[NYMinute]

118. It will be injury by a thousand cuts

You know Sanders is losing in ALL the upcoming states by between 14 and 46 points don't you?

Why make your candidate go through such pain of rejection state after state after state?

What does that prove really?

[Happy Hoosier]

120. Bernie should focus on building support...

... in the Senate for his agenda. He builds support, and gets a bill passed, then it would be hard for Biden to jot sign it, because I think there is no way a bill would survive Pelosi’s review if it didn’t make sense.

[Aquaria]

141. If he were capable of building support for his agenda,

He would have passed more of his own legislation during his many years in DC.

Any idiot can "co-sponsor" a bill or vote on it. It takes real statesmanship to craft legislation and then get people to join you in seeing it through to passage and signature.

BS has never shown any desire or willingness to do those things.

And that, to reference your avatar, is why he fails.

[Happy Hoosier]

154. Yup. I 100% agree. NT

[comradebillyboy]

161. He hasn't a clue how to do those things. He's a

very ineffective legislator.

[Happy Hoosier]

162. Agreed. He's a gadfly. NT

[Demsrule86]

121. Yeah well -they are only helping Trump. And when he is reelected because of this sort of bern

it down behavior, I guess they will have won? Not a victory IMHO.

[Vivienne235729]

124. That makes zero sense to me. He's spent the last year pushing progressive ideas.

How many debates have we had? How many rallies has he had?How many times does he have to repeat it? This will come as a shock, but EVERYONE has heard him. Repeatedly. People are sick of his same story over and over. To stay in a race that he has almost no chance of winning is no longer about the issues. It is pure vanity. Time to pivot and unify. And I don't care about people's egos and hurt feelings about a race. There are kids in cages, dying. SO, yea. We need to get our shit together and get rid of this monster in the WH.

[oldtime dfl_er]

126. Do Bernie supporters really believe

That anyone over 40 doesn't care about the future? Doesn't care about their future? Doesn't care about the environment? Grow up.

[TexasTowelie]

128. So I guess that if that Bernie decides to stay in the race

the corporate media conglomerates that his supporters despise will reap the profits from all the advertising that his campaign will buy?

[Liberty Belle]

131. Voters in late-voting states should have choices or they may stay home & mess up local races.

Remember, those states may have Congressional and state legislative primary races, as well as local races.

If the presidential primary is over, especially with the coronavirus fears, many people will just stay home and not vote. If any states have top-two rules like CA has, that could mean two Republicans advancing in some races, eliminating Democrats.

Bernie will probably not win, but as the last surviving challenger he should stay in until all states have voted. I would feel that way no matter who the last two candidates standing were.

[TexasTowelie]

133. The flaw in your argument

is that only two states have non-partisan top two primaries: California and Washington. Since both of those states have held their primaries it means that your point is moot.

[MrsCoffee]

151. Nice try.

But big fail.

There are no more excuses. Staying in makes him a spoiler. Period.

AGAIN.

[Demsrule86]

158. Nonsense that is an excuse...they don't give a damn...Sanders is losing everywhere...he lost

Washington...he is finished. Sanders supporters need to accept Sanders lost and move on to the general...none of this will help anyone but Trump.

[greenjar_01]

137. They been saying the same shit for 60 years

The problem for your argument is that the same people who support this shit in their 20's, when they don't vote, move away from it when they are responsible for other tiny humans, in their 30's and 40's. And tiny humans have a way of grounding the airy bullshit. It's been the same dynamic throughout the post-war period. So, quite frankly, "this ideology is the future because it is the ideology of the young" is a profoundly stupid argument. The young change their views. They always do.

[grantcart]

138. Boy that is some kool aid

Bernie is "adding by subtraction". He currently us. Not just losing ever state (oh yeah he got a few thousand in ND) but in state after state he is losing every county.

But the most ridiculous part of your assertion that Bernie's movement is the future of the Democratic Party.

Sanders (I) Vermont is not a Democrat, doesn't like the Democratic Party and will not spend his largesse to advance his personal campaign to transform the Democratic Party into a socialist one.

Sanders isn't a Democrat, he is a visitor.

[quickesst]

153. 18 to 25 year olds.....

Congratulations. Bernie leads in the age demographic whose brains aren't even fully developed.

I don't know why so many people have a hard time understanding why young people love rallies which are emotional , and do not show up to vote which is, quite frankly, kind of boring, and a lot of the time, requires patience . Science.

************
Snip:
"It doesn’t matter how smart teens are or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good judgment isn’t something they can excel in, at least not yet.

The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so.

In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part."

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051

[honest.abe]

160. Sanders scorched earth approach to force the Democratic party left..

is doing more harm than good to the progressive movement. I for one am sick of him and couldn't care less about anything he wants or says.

[zackymilly]

167. You knew you were going to get this reaction posting this. Why do it? n/t

[Gothmog]

169. LOL sanders staying in the primary fight will only weaken sanders limited bargaining position

sanders not dropping out may help Biden. sanders keeps on losing primaries by large margins nnly strenghten's Joe's position https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/11/no-surprise-bernie-sanders-is-still-all-about-himself-never-party/

Sanders’s remaining in the race should serve several salutary purposes for the party and the country. First, seeing him lose overwhelmingly week after week will dispel the notion that the Democratic Party has moved left, or that he is in a dominant position to negotiate with the overwhelming winner. It’s not clear why the Biden camp should “give” Sanders anything.

Second, it is good to keep Biden in fighting form, continuing to boost turnout and showing, as he did in Philadelphia, how presidential he is. Biden can pivot to the general election, essentially ignoring Sanders. (His planned speech on the coronavirus is the perfect opportunity to leave Sanders out of the discussion entirely.)....

Whoever is to replace Sanders as the standard-bearer for the left — hopefully someone as smart and wonky as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — will need to learn how to win elections. (Hint: It is not by scaring voters or attaching oneself to the socialist label.) When in office, a new generation of leaders on the left will need to learn the art of deal-making rather than waste years, as Sanders has, rabble-rousing but accomplishing nothing. Unlike Sanders, Warren (or whoever else takes the reins) will not be burdened by a record of reflexively praising dictators nor be driven to attack fellow Democrats.

Sanders will end the race at some point, a diminished figure. In retrospect, his wins in 2016 will be seen more as an anti-Hillary Clinton vote than a pro-Sanders vote. How he behaves at Sunday’s debate will determine whether he leaves a bad taste in the mouths of Democrats.

[SidDithers]

171. ...

Sid

[SiliconValley_Dem]

172. Wow. Just wow. No perspective. Whatsoever

[SidDithers]

173. Kick...nt

Sid

[Gothmog]

174. No thank you

Link to tweet

[KitSileya]

175. It hobbles down-ticket races. Do you want to try to re-gain the Senate and hold the House?

What happened in 2016 will happen again in 2020. Democratic candidates for President don't just fund-raise for themselves, they also fund-raise money for down-ticket races on both the state and the county level. Senator Sanders refused to do this last time, probably because he has no loyalty to the party as a whole. Instead he fund-raised only for the few select candidates that met his own draconian standards of purity, most of whom were in safe districts as they challenged other Democrats rather than Republicans. The numbers show that his endorsements and those of his PACs didn't gain a single seat for the Democratic party in 2018. Anyway, the money raised by the candidates can only be released by the nominee, or the presumptive nominee if every other candidate withdraws. In other words, if Senator Sanders withdraws now, that money can be used for the general election at all levels now. Or he stays in, and he makes the work of trying to win the Senate and keeping the House more difficult than it needs to be.

As the states hold their primaries, their candidates for the House, for the Senate, and for the State Congresses, as well as Governorships, are determined, and they could start hitting the Republican party where it hurts. However, if Senator Sanders cannot put his ego (as well as his disdain of the Democratic Party) aside, he'll make their job harder because their finances will be limited. He obviously doesn't think that is a consideration given that he refuses to raise money for down-ticket races, but any loyal Democrat cannot but understand how egregious such behavior would be.

[Gothmog]

180. sanders sent Cynthia Nixon to Florida on the Castro issue??

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[zonkers]

182. I dont trust anyone but Liz or Bernie to stop the corporatists from capitalizing on this crisis.

[NCProgressive]

184. They are both out ... you'll have to wait until 2024 now.

[zonkers]

185. No shit.

[NCProgressive]

190. Glad you recognize it. Bravo.

Now please urge your candidate to drop out pronto!

[TomCADem]

187. Elizabeth Warren Did Not Put Herself Above The American People

There is a reason why she not only dropped out, but also declined to endorse Bernie Sanders. If you trust her, then it is clear that Bernie should be part of the movement, rather than trying to harm the American people by prolonging the Trump regime.

[Gothmog]

188. Maybe even the sanders have realized that Sirota is toxic

Link to tweet

[Hav]

189. "We don't know what it is with this asshole.

We only hired him to be an asshole against Democrats but he just cannot switch it off! Even the other Democratic party hating staff members cannot stand him and he now has to travel on his own."

[Aaron Pereira]

191. He's talking about Medicare for All and the virus and doing a good job.

He should stay in and considering the uncertain times we are living in secure his place if Biden were unable to continue to the general election. Staying in to the convention is the correct and pragmatic move.

[TomCADem]

192. Wow. BS Should Stay In Just In Case Something Happens to Biden?

That is just pathetic, though not surprising coming from BS. Why is it that it has once again come down to BS's supporters are saying that BS should stay in just in case something happens to the frontrunner:

Aaron Pereira wrote:
He should stay in and considering the uncertain times we are living in secure his place if Biden were unable to continue to the general election. Staying in to the convention is the correct and pragmatic move.

This is why BS is not fit to be President. He pushes a campaign where supporters are once again holding out hope that something bad happens to the Democratic front runner. This is a direct result of BS's constant attacks and efforts to push a false equivalency between Republicans and Democrats:

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1231021453270769664&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F%3Fcom%3Dview_post%26forum%3D1287%26pid%3D680522

[Aaron Pereira]

193. Lots of hostility in your post. I'm very sorry to see that.

There are many good reasons for Sanders to stay and it's perfectly reasonable to have the runner up candidate ready to step up just in case given our current situation.

[Aquaria]

194. I'd rather him go back to DC to do a lot of all hat no cattle

His support for HRC in 2016 was half-ass, to say the least. He certainly did precious little to rein in his most vicious supporters.

[OnDoutside]

196. Even though Bernie gave the impression that he was suspending,

with his announcement to suspend Facebook ads, do we know if he has suspended taking campaign donations ?

[trueblue2007]

199. Bernie's movement is obviously NOT the future of the Democratic party. He needs to drop out.

Doesn't have a chance. My opinion.