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thesquanderer

(13,012 posts)

36. Unlike McGovern, Sanders wouldn't be running against an incumbent.

Reply to davishenderson265 (Original post)

Tue Jun 16, 2015, 07:21 PM

Jun 2015

Last edited Tue Jun 16, 2015, 10:20 PM - Edit history (3)

No matter what negatives you perceive in Sanders' electability, I don't know how you can assume very much without even knowing who he will be running against.

And remember, while people "in the middle" may have seen McGovern as more liberal than they liked, the alternative, Nixon, was not nearly as conservative as most of today's Republican candidates, and therefore was more palatable to moderates than many of today's Republicans would be.

Also, times are different. I don't think any candidate could pull off a 1972 Nixon style sweep. I think there are certain states that are going to go to the Republican candidate no matter what, and certain states that are going to go to the Democratic candidate no matter what. So really, what you need to look at are which states are in play, and then look at who the alternative to Sanders would be. Until you get to that point, I'd say there's really no foundation to build your premise on.

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I love Bernie Sanders but he is 100 percent NOT electable. [View all] davishenderson265 Jun 2015 OP

if he can beat Hillary Clinton then he's certainly electable. nt geek tragedy Jun 2015 #1

He's not even a McGovern because he's not a Democrat. KittyWampus Jun 2015 #2

jesus Christ, will you give that crap a rest already HERVEPA Jun 2015 #42

Give what a rest? Reality? Sorry if the truth disturbs you. KittyWampus Jun 2015 #106

Truth must hurt, eh? eom MohRokTah Jun 2015 #117

LMFAO ...keep trying. L0oniX Jun 2015 #57

I suspect he would outperform your dire prediction./NT DemocratSinceBirth Jun 2015 #3

can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting some n00b expressing concern.. frylock Jun 2015 #4

Yes, indeed. Maedhros Jun 2015 #13

And they, curiously, tend to avoid mentioning who they D think will win. arcane1 Jun 2015 #26

The bigger the crowds, the greater the efforts to discredit him. arcane1 Jun 2015 #22

Did they get bused in? nt Snotcicles Jun 2015 #142

I'm glad he's running because he'll help define the conversation... joeybee12 Jun 2015 #5

sounds like self fulfilling prophesy lame54 Jun 2015 #11

I think you're wrong. Maedhros Jun 2015 #15

I disagree. Ed Suspicious Jun 2015 #132

!!! Tarheel_Dem Jun 2015 #6

I remember 1972. JDPriestly Jun 2015 #112

Also remember that McGovern voters were VINDICATED two years later Art_from_Ark Jun 2015 #118

Yes. But the Republicans have been furious about Tricky Dick's last ride for generations now. JDPriestly Jun 2015 #151

What current Republican will fill the Nixon role? rurallib Jun 2015 #139

with all due respect to your psychic abilities... lame54 Jun 2015 #7

Best candidate is right. lonestarnot Jun 2015 #49

It's a damned abuse of a credit card and Miss Cleo I tells ya... L0oniX Jun 2015 #60

Same here MissDeeds Jun 2015 #72

Me too. GoneFishin Jun 2015 #140

Anyone we nominate will be turned into a Stalinist cartoon by the right wing media. dawg Jun 2015 #8

And we can point out truths that THEY are more aligned with Stalinists... cascadiance Jun 2015 #63

That is shocking. I didn't know that. Thanks for posting. nt snagglepuss Jun 2015 #83

+1 It's also been reported that Big Daddy Fred Koch intentionally whipped up appalachiablue Jun 2015 #93

B-I-N-G-O snagglepuss Jun 2015 #78

You are correct. The media will crush him. Kingofalldems Jun 2015 #9

Sanders is not afraid of the media.. frylock Jun 2015 #16

Unlike some other candidates..... peacebird Jun 2015 #23

I thought one would be doing Duckhunter935 Jun 2015 #31

So you acknowledge that our corporate media finds Hillary acceptable, but not Sanders. Marr Jun 2015 #64

I said no such thing. Kingofalldems Jun 2015 #73

Aggressive. Marr Jun 2015 #75

Sanders is a Socialist, which to the media Kingofalldems Jun 2015 #80

Sanders has faced it all before. He knows how to handle this. His formula is simple. Ed Suspicious Jun 2015 #136

When did I ever say I was a centrist? Where? Kingofalldems Jun 2015 #148

Results... Major Nikon Jun 2015 #149

By that logic the Koch worshipping GOP are also "Satan worshippers"... cascadiance Jun 2015 #152

Could be. Kingofalldems Jun 2015 #155

I know... But the Republicans and corporatists that are owned by Kochs... cascadiance Jun 2015 #158

if he can win the primary he can win the presidency JI7 Jun 2015 #10

I am 100% unconvinced n/t arcane1 Jun 2015 #12

sure you love Bernie. Grab a frickin' clue, hon, every post in this vein cali Jun 2015 #14

+1 [n/t] Maedhros Jun 2015 #19

A fuckload of zombies and socks are very 'concerned'... MerryBlooms Jun 2015 #34

I find the "concern" of all of these newbies entertaining. MelissaB Jun 2015 #45

Bless their little concerned hearts Art_from_Ark Jun 2015 #123

+1, must be one of the bullet points. Marr Jun 2015 #66

Bingo MissDeeds Jun 2015 #74

You are 100% wrong. N\t PowerToThePeople Jun 2015 #17

He is only unelectable if you choose not to vote for him. mmonk Jun 2015 #18

I stopped reading at:" 99Forever Jun 2015 #20

Wow, golly gee. I guess I should just quit trying & swallow whoever YOU tell me is electable, right? peacebird Jun 2015 #21

Thank you for your concern & welcome to DU Ruby the Liberal Jun 2015 #24

Thankfully, I think you're wrong about him being able to get nominated. Donald Ian Rankin Jun 2015 #25

The only people he will be a bad candidate to will be those who do not understand what randys1 Jun 2015 #29

So many things are possible if both people have the faith AND put in the required work AZ Progressive Jun 2015 #27

As Robert Kennedy noted: Art_from_Ark Jun 2015 #124

silly H2O Man Jun 2015 #28

I heard the same thing said about Obama eight years ago gollygee Jun 2015 #30

Oh yes, you are so right. edgineered Jun 2015 #32

You are so right! Sancho Jun 2015 #33

I checked some other posts by you. Why do they all show 77 posts? nt ladjf Jun 2015 #35

Your profile always shows the current number of posts gollygee Jun 2015 #44

It used to be that someone's posts were numbered in chronological order Art_from_Ark Jun 2015 #129

Unlike McGovern, Sanders wouldn't be running against an incumbent. thesquanderer Jun 2015 #36

The war in Viet Nam was incredibly polarizing Babel_17 Jun 2015 #89

Way back in 1972... Pastiche423 Jun 2015 #37

i too was so upset by McGovern's loss DesertFlower Jun 2015 #43

No internet back then to spread the truth marlakay Jun 2015 #101

The South is pretty much red anyway TexasBushwhacker Jun 2015 #38

My vote is my vote and I support Bernie Marrah_G Jun 2015 #39

Oh, well. NewSystemNeeded Jun 2015 #40

Exactly. This is obvious and both sides of the aisle know it. DanTex Jun 2015 #41

do you think that Hillary is not already a cartoon? grasswire Jun 2015 #51

In the sense that all politicians are cartoons, sure. DanTex Jun 2015 #54

He's a super cartoon! RichVRichV Jun 2015 #65

Obviously, the GOP will go after both of them. DanTex Jun 2015 #70

And the Kochs that own the GOP are STALINISTS TOO! cascadiance Jun 2015 #153

Hear Hear snagglepuss Jun 2015 #79

Go over to freerepublic.. grasswire Jun 2015 #69

Obviously they hate her. Kind of ironic that the Hillary-bashers here at DU insist DanTex Jun 2015 #71

Compared to a proven loser? I'll take my chances. Scootaloo Jun 2015 #46

Let's be honest about sadoldgirl Jun 2015 #47

And don't forget Nixon's dirty tricks Art_from_Ark Jun 2015 #133

And Nixon spent four years 1939 Jun 2015 #141

Times they are a changing. I was back there to. Our country was doing very well back then. Today jwirr Jun 2015 #48

Oh please. Take a good look at the GOPs stable of candidates. Raster Jun 2015 #50

Then Hillary is less electable. Motown_Johnny Jun 2015 #52

you are 100% ignorable olddots Jun 2015 #53

She is a proven national loser aspirant Jun 2015 #55

^^^this^^^ L0oniX Jun 2015 #61

I recall that well, but I think the mood of the country has changed. So many have been RKP5637 Jun 2015 #56

"That's the best ya got?" Peregrine Took Jun 2015 #58

Nothing is 100 percent. DCBob Jun 2015 #59

Are the War Room donuts free? n/t moondust Jun 2015 #62

Just like the Syriza party was "unelectable" in Greece... cascadiance Jun 2015 #67

Alberta, Canada home to neoCon Harper and Big Dirty Oil elected a Socialist snagglepuss Jun 2015 #88

And Madrid and Barcelona also elected two new mayors in Spain... cascadiance Jun 2015 #91

Well said. There should be more reports on populist & progessive elections & appalachiablue Jun 2015 #97

And another newbie shows up Le Taz Hot Jun 2015 #68

hope you have a helmet dlwickham Jun 2015 #76

I too cast my first vote for McGovern JohnnyRingo Jun 2015 #77

Great perspective LordGlenconner Jun 2015 #87

"We are basically a center-right country." truebluegreen Jun 2015 #95

I'm just pointing out recent history LordGlenconner Jun 2015 #113

I was talking about the country, not the politicians. truebluegreen Jun 2015 #130

Against whose wishes? LordGlenconner Jun 2015 #147

Are you that naive? truebluegreen Jun 2015 #159

This isn't 1972. herding cats Jun 2015 #81

Dewey wins!.... sendero Jun 2015 #82

Is someone baking in here? hootinholler Jun 2015 #84

Hmm, I'm pretty sure the campaign hasn't be moving forward mostly due to young folks Babel_17 Jun 2015 #85

You left out one very important fact Oilwellian Jun 2015 #86

in order to elect Bernie we need to be smart and we need to be brave. rbnyc Jun 2015 #90

Disagree rpannier Jun 2015 #92

The race could be: RoverSuswade Jun 2015 #94

Thanks for your concern. GoneOffShore Jun 2015 #96

Whatever... LuvLoogie Jun 2015 #98

We'll see. aikoaiko Jun 2015 #99

Oddschecker.com begs to differ. They list Bernie as a 33/1 shot. Nye Bevan Jun 2015 #100

And same odds as someone clearly nit even running ( Warren) pkdu Jun 2015 #110

Neither was a Black man before 2008 DJ13 Jun 2015 #102

Have you heard of this thing called the Zeitgeist? MannyGoldstein Jun 2015 #103

False equivalence. You are citing anecdotes, not natural law. immoderate Jun 2015 #104

Cool. Choose you candidate from a position of fear. Luminous Animal Jun 2015 #105

We've had over 6 years of the president being called a socialist... daleanime Jun 2015 #107

Feel the Bern!!! Kalidurga Jun 2015 #108

So let's assume for the sake of argument that you are right. JDPriestly Jun 2015 #109

Can't never could do nothing. Hiraeth Jun 2015 #111

I agree with OP MFM008 Jun 2015 #114

lol AgingAmerican Jun 2015 #115

Cool story, bro. GeorgeGist Jun 2015 #116

Obama wasn't electable either. Vinca Jun 2015 #119

This time around Hillary is the Mcgovern coalition Report1212 Jun 2015 #120

I miss the unrec button. Scuba Jun 2015 #121

I am not convinced that Bernie is at all viable in a general election contest Gothmog Jun 2015 #122

Your concern is noted. nt LWolf Jun 2015 #125

A generation of change has happened since '72 demwing Jun 2015 #126

I would be more concerned about backing a candidate who could not nail down djean111 Jun 2015 #127

Well, I have a hard time seeing HRC has a clear win Kelvin Mace Jun 2015 #128

sounds like wishful thinking on your part G_j Jun 2015 #131

UNrec magical thyme Jun 2015 #134

I think he would do a little better than just "Vermont & Washington, DC" Herman4747 Jun 2015 #135

I love Sanders too One of the 99 Jun 2015 #137

Bernie is so unlike McGovern, SheilaT Jun 2015 #138

If he can defeat Hillary for the nomination, he wll be 100% electable Tom Rinaldo Jun 2015 #143

I was pretty sure McGovern couldn't win. I voted for him anyway. Tierra_y_Libertad Jun 2015 #144

Your concern is noted. A black man with the middle name Hussein wasn't electable either. truebrit71 Jun 2015 #145

The black man had huge resources that Bernie didn't brooklynite Jun 2015 #154

Which makes Hillary all the more vulnerable... truebrit71 Jun 2015 #156

If the corporate media is against Bernie, JEB Jun 2015 #146

See below: Damansarajaya Jun 2015 #150

LOL! Kewl story! nt Rex Jun 2015 #157