If Clinton Is So Sure She Will Win, Why Does She Need To Mislead Us About The Popular Vote?

[BainsBane]

41. It's the number cited by every reputable source

It is not a lie. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/democratic_vote_count.html

Lies are not facts you would prefer not to hear about. Lies are not the revelation that other people besides Bernie supporters' votes count.


Now, there is a issue with the fact that caucus states report delegate equivalents and not votes because people don't actually vote in a caucus system. They cast presidential preference ballots. Some have estimated what the difference would be accounting for every person who attended caucuses, and they estimate a difference in the pop vote totals of approximately 200,000, which means Clinton's lead is still in the 3 million vote range. You see, caucuses have VERY LOW turnout. That in fact is what prompted Tad Devine, in Jan of 2016, to declare them essential to Bernie's strategy.

The idea is to take advantage of the caucus format, which tends to reward campaigns with the most dedicated partisans. The caucuses play to Sanders’ strength in another important way – they are largely held in states that are heavily white, which helps Sanders neutralize Clinton’s edge with minority voters.
With a dozen such contests coming before the end of March – and Clinton expected to perform well on March 1, the first big multi-state primary day -- the caucuses are emerging as an integral part of Sanders’ long-shot plan.
“Caucuses are very good for Bernie Sanders,” explained chief Sanders strategist Tad Devine, likening the 2016 strategy to the one he deployed as Mike Dukakis’ field director in 1988. “Caucuses tend to be in the much-lower turnout universe, and having people who intensely support you in events like that makes a huge difference. You saw that with President Obama in 2008, and you’re going to see it with Bernie Sanders."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/bernie-sanders-iowa-obama-playbook-218137#ixzz49JLQNbe3
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That strategy has born fruit. He has done best in caucus states, where voter participation this year has averaged 3.7%. They are the most restrictive means of selecting presidential candidates and have the lowest level of participation of people of color and the poor. Part of that is because most of the states that use caucus systems have low minority populations, but it is also because of the nature of the system that requires people be president during a set period on one night or afternoon. If you have to work and can't afford to take the time off, you're out of luck. If you have child care issues, you're out of luck. If you're elderly or disabled, it's exceedingly difficult if not impossible to participate.

Bottom line: Bernie's campaign strategy has depended on low voter turnout caucus victories. That has kept his overall vote count low. He has not done nearly as well in primaries. Even in states he has won, his margins of victory have been less in primaries, and he has not won a single state with a large population and high voter participation rate. His delegate count is thus substantially higher than his popular vote totals.