I doubt Bernie dropping out now would help at all. In 2016 Bernie started kind of slow but started doing better and better, even if he never got the majority. That doesn’t appear to be the case now – he started fast and is doing worse and worse. I think the best way to demonstrate that primary voters prefer Biden to Bernie is for Biden to earn his majority, contest by contest. Then Bernie endorses him, and hopefully Biden gives something to appeal to Bernie supporters (like a VP pick well-liked by Bernie supporters). Like it or not, Bernie supporters are a big chunk of voters, and especially important for the future of the party, and IMO it’s very important for the party to do everything it can to bring them in rather than blowing them off.
Love him or hate him (or you think he’s okay), Michael Moore last night soberly expressed (in this three minute interview) the situation for Bernie and his ideas. He reflects on how many Michigan (and other) voters are just tired, and can’t stand another day of Trump. He also cautions us to avoid demonizing the young, who will help bring Bernie’s crucial ideas to fruition in coming years
If this is an example of staying in the race to get concessions out of Biden then Sanders should just get out of the race.
I tend to think it’s OK for Bernie to stay in for another round of contests, just to keep the enthusiasm of his supporters up even though the writing is on the wall.
But he really really needs to stop feeding the same bullshit that Trump is spreading. When his supporters are passing around the same viral videos and making the same comments about “fatigue” and vague accusations of mental decline it’s not at all helpful. He should be pushing back against that bullshit. Hopefully at their debate this weekend he will do that. Bernie should look at this debate as an opportunity to unite the party, make the case for progressive action, and praise his supporters for the work they’ve done. Give Biden a chance to explain areas where his past votes have been wrong, but don’t try to bash his head in and make Trump’s points for him. I hope Bernie has the wisdom and character to do that…
Barring an unexpected catastrophe, Biden will be the nominee. At this point anything Bernie does that weakens him helps Donald Trump get re-elected.
I agree with Whack-a-Mole.
At the start of the campaign, I was leaning towards Sanders, however I thought it was a very strong Democratic field and I would happily support any of the candidates.
But during the campaign and debates, I got serious concerns about Biden who kept going on these crazy rants which were not just utterly incoherent, but showed an astonishing lack of composure. Like, an ordinary member of the public makes a mild criticism, maybe even just asks him a question, and he goes bananas. It got to the point where every time he takes the mic I’m watching through my fingers.
I will support Biden when he’s the nominee, of course, but I really think the party has screwed up; we’ve nominated the one person who is not able to beat Trump in a head-to-head debate (OK, Bloomberg maybe not either, but that’s not so clear-cut), and who is going to make one “gaffe” too many between now and November.
Well, at least you guys can again blame it on Sanders.
If Sanders can’t win the Dem nomination, where he has a lot of agreement on the issues, why in the world would you think he’d be the stronger candidate in the general? It would have been better if neither Sanders nor Biden had runand give new blood a chance. But they didn’t and I think the party made the right choice between them.
I actually agree with Mijin about Biden’s greatest liability as a campaigner. I, too, will be biting my nails over this for the next however many months.
But (clearly) I disagree that this was a reason to nominate Sanders. IF Biden can avoid major missteps due to the tendencies Mijin described, he can win. Bernie, however, cannot win (barring a HUGE Trump crisis, which is very unlikely even if the coronavirus and its economic effects are really bad).
Do I have to cite my Wisconsin neighbors again? I think not. Some of you get it.
Biden reminds me of a movie. Sadly that movie is Plan 9 from Outer Space.
And so the re-election of Trump begins. Thanks a lot for destroying the world. I’m serious.
ETA: If you’re just confining such critiques to forums where you’re pretty sure everyone will vote for Biden anyway, that’s okay. Or if you qualify them with a “…but vote for him anyway,” okay. Otherwise, ENOUGH. Save it for the day after Election Day, when Chevy Chase can reprise his Ford routine on SNL (isn’t he about Biden’s age?).
Anybody should be free to criticize any candidate. And I disagree that such criticizers, even when using a mocking tone, are responsible for that candidate failing to win an election.
Any failings Biden has are going to be dragged out ad infinitum in the coming months, let’s not kid ourselves about that. It’s useless trying to hide those things, what we should be aiming to do is shine a light everywhere: on all of Trump’s appalling words and actions and on memes like “Trump’s done the best job on the economy EVA!”
Sanders is rapidly losing the clout to get Biden to make concessions. Consider:
He got 23,000 fewer votes in Michigan than he did in 2016
80,000 fewer votes in Missouri
150,000 fewer votes in N. Carolina
800,000 fewer votes in California (still not all the votes in yet)
Eight percentage points lower in Virginia
Seven percentage points lower in South Carolina
And at this point he’s far behind the pace he set in Washington state
After last week, I felt that if Bernie won Michigan and Washington state, he’d get a second wind. Not only is that not happening, but you can make the argument that Bernie is becoming less popular than he was four years ago. Not a strong bargaining position.
all those things Sanders is using against Biden now will be used by Trump , plus a lot more. For example all the Ukraine stuff is not being used by Sanders from what I’ve seen. Doesn’t matter if it is true or not, Trump will use it.
I might have to get drunk to vote for Biden but it’s OK since I can walk to my voting place. Or maybe stagger.
Mijin, I get what you’re saying, but I disagree. The margins are too close, the stakes too high.
If Bernie were the clear nominee at this point (let’s say, in Biden’s position, in terms of delegates, momentum, etc.), I would start refraining from critiquing Bernie, now. What’s the point? None! I’d be biting my nails over lots of things that make it likely that many of my purple-state neighbors not vote for him, but in any and all fora where a persuadable voter might be listening, I’d be praising him to the heavens.
What’s there to lose by doing this — and what’s there to gain by CRITIQUING him in such fora? Does it make you look cool or something? I genuinely don’t get what the point is of that.
No, it’s the voters game. I dont work for the DNC.
The Bernie bros need to get over this crazy idea that the DNC mind controls the voters.
And it doesnt matter anymore. It’s over… Sanders has lost. Biden has won.
Attacks on Biden wont help sanders win, because…sanders has lost- overwhelmingly. The voters have spoken.
If Sanders primary motivation is to advance his progressive agenda, here is what in my opinion he should do. First stop all attacks against Biden. Biden should no longer be presented as a demented warmonger in the pocket of big business. Instead he should be presented as what he is, a worthy opponent who has different approach to how to achieve progressive ideals but is light years better than Trump. Sanders should not however (and I say this as someone who opposes his nomination) completely drop out of the race. His campaign should be refocused not at getting him nominated but at getting as many of his delegates as possible to attend the convention, and so work to transform the Democratic party from the inside. Worded this way he might actually get more votes. There are a lot of people who support his agenda, but are deeply concerned about his ability to beat Trump if he were the nominee. They might be willing to vote for his delegates even if they may not want to vote for him.
Yes, the idea that Biden is suffering from dementia or whatever is a rumor spread 100% by Bernie bros. It has no basis in truth. Based upon the same evidence, we could say bernie is senile- after all, he is older.
It’s over. The Fat Lady (Michigan) has sung.
From now until November, instead of publicly critiquing Biden, if you want to impress someone you have the hots for with your rebel-socialist credentials, go join the civil warriors down in the Republic of San Marcos. 
The difference is that if Trump says it any true blue progressive will rightly dismiss the allegation out of hand. But if it comes from savior Bernie himself they may believe it and vote 3rd party of stay home.
Well, now, I agree about her “likeability” factor. Don’t like her myself, but not necessarily due to her political stance. Not much different than her husband, and I like him, even if I don’t entirely trust him.
However, let it be dully noted, she did win that utterly irrelevant part where more people actually voted for her.
Took me a while to figure out you were describing Hillary Clinton, circa May 2016. I think. (Perhaps this was intended for a different thread?)