General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Just a couple reasons Bernie can win the nomination IF he even runs [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)According to this poll, a less-than-whopping 11% of all Democrats view him unfavorably.
You ask, "Why not find a consensus candidate everyone in the party actually likes and will gladly support?" Maybe because it's impossible. Back in 1820, when the party was still called Democratic-Republican, James Monroe sought re-election. Monroe carried every state, and he still lost one electoral vote, because one of the party's chosen electors wouldn't gladly support him (preferring John Quincy Adams). In more recent times, there've been Democrats who wouldn't support Gore, Democrats who wouldn't support Kerry, and Democrats who wouldn't support Obama. In 2016, many Dems disliked Clinton and many Dems disliked Sanders. I think O'Malley, being less well known, had lower unfavorability ratings than either of them, but even so there were many Dems who disliked him.