Bernie Sanders's agenda makes him the definition of unelectable

[ehrnst]

63. Well, if the GOP gets their way, Bernie will secure the nomination.

A few hours earlier, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), a close White House ally, spoke at a Capitol Hill press conference and, unprompted, started talking about the existence of Democratic superdelegates -- which McCarthy described as "horrific" -- before accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of delaying the president's Senate impeachment trial in order to somehow "hurt" Bernie Sanders.

Link to tweet

McCarthy added that former Vice President Joe Biden should stop campaigning during Trump's impeachment trial -- out of deference to Sanders, who'll be tied up at the trial. (McCarthy made no mention of the other senators who'll also be taken off the campaign trail during the trial.)

All of this may seem bizarre -- and to a very real extent, it is -- but it's not accidental. There's a GOP strategy unfolding, and it's based on a couple of assumptions.

First, Trump and McCarthy seem to believe Sanders' supporters can be manipulated -- a belief I suspect the Vermonter's backers will find insulting -- and intra-party divisions in Democratic politics can be stoked to ensure Trump's re-election. McCarthy's reference to superdelegates was especially notable: some Sanders supporters are under the mistaken belief that Democratic superdelegates derailed the senator's 2016 candidacy, which is not what happened.

Second, Republican attempts at mischief notwithstanding, the New York Times reports that Donald Trump's political advisers see Bernie Sanders as "their ideal" general-election opponent. To that end, the article added, members of the president's team "have been doing what they can to elevate [the independent senator's] profile and bolster his chances of winning the Iowa caucuses."

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-trump-mccarthy-seem-so-eager-side-bernie-sanders-n1116941