HOW does Sanders best gain more power and influence for the movement from here?
I’d WAG that going hard negative at this point, when it is clear he has no path left to winning, DECREASES power and the position of the movement within the party. Campaigning further in a unity mode, emphasizing the shared goals not only of defeating Trump, but of universal health coverage, decreased wealth inequality, addressing climate change, so on, advocating for his preferred approach but acknowledging that the goals are shared ones and in stark contrast to what Trump and the GOP is doing, keeps the issues as the priorities of all of the party. It, not tearing at the nominee, builds influence and keeps the voters that support him involved, to win more power from the ground up over midterms to come and beyond.
Surprised Trump or 3rd party groups or both have not gone after Biden in a major way yet. Maybe they feel it’s best to hold their fire until the Dem convention and after .
People are speculating about his mental state because of his bizarre, incoherentrants, and how badly they compare to his performance even as recently as the end of Obama’s terms.
Very obviously right-wing media is also attacking Biden over this. Trying to suggest it was all started by the bernie bros, let alone the implication that no-one would have any doubts about Biden’s cognition otherwise is beyond ludicrous.
But I would see it this way: in this context, it doesn’t even matter whether he has dementia, or just has dreadful oratory and public interaction skill for some other reason.
Either way it’s going to be a painful few months hoping he doesn’t completely put his foot in it.
That’s not the way I want to feel going into an election.
Some GOP senators are talking about Hunter Biden and Burisma again. I wouldn’t be surprised if right after the Dem Convention that Hunter gets a subpoena in order to derail and paint his father as corrupt.
I have always blamed Hillary for her loss. But people always seem to try and make some excuse for her loss from sexism to the electoral college.
If Biden had run last time, he would have beaten Trump. He just couldn’t get past the Clinton machine.
Biden has actual experience winning elections, Clinton has never won a competitive election.
Biden isn’t running on identity politics like Clinton did.
Biden doesn’t have the same limousine liberal aura that Clinton does.
Biden doesn’t think he is headed towards a coronation.
Anything can happen and it’s too early to blame Bernie for a Biden loss but we will have to wait and see if he (and his supporters) is part of the solution or part of the problem.
The DNC conspired and schemed to help Hillary and hurt Bernie.
The “I’m with HER” crowd cheated to help Hillary.
Maybe that wasn’t the difference in the general election but it’s pretty hard to support the winner if they cheated, even if they didn’t have to cheat to do it. or maybe its “especially if they didn’t have to cheat to do it” See Astros.
And thereby force him into positions that would make him less electable in the general election?
No. No there isn’t. Not if the goal is winning the general election rather than changing the platform of the losing party.
What makes his voting record collosally bad?
So he was against federally mandating busing. A policy so unpopular that noone does it anymore.
What makes you think that one of the other moderate candidates won’t suddenly see a revival of their campaign if Biden blows up? Bloomberg can certainly swoop in at any moment.
Perhaps it would be a good idea for the primaries to run their course and for it to become clear that there is overwhelming support for Biden over Bernie.
But I don’t think we give a damn thing to hostage takers. Either they want Trump out of office or they don’t. If you have to be bribed to support getting rid of Trump then you don’t deserve anything. Not a single goddam thing.
I care about beating trump about a million times more than any notion of “deserve”, in terms of “bribes” to political supporters (also known as “politics”). YMMV.
She had a 3 million popular vote majority. 5 million of that came California.
If Trump had focused on winning the popular vote rather than the actual election, who knows what the popular vote would have been. That is why the popular vote count is relatively meaningless.
You see where I said “Maybe that wasn’t the difference in the general election but it’s pretty hard to support the winner if they cheated, even if they didn’t have to cheat to do it. or maybe its “especially if they didn’t have to cheat to do it” See Astros.”
Nobody wants to support the Astros and it may not be enough that they are playing the Yankees to get you to cheer for them.
You’re the one telling us that we have to appease the Bernie Bros.
The Millennials represent a minority of the Democratic party (and they will ALWAYS be a minority of the party). Yes we need them but we need the Boomers and Gen X just as much. We cannot let Millennials hold democracy hostage and coerce the rest of the party into pursuing a radical agenda. We don’t need them any more than they need us and if they want to play chicken with this election to coerce the party with a tyranny of the minority, then screw them.
I don’t care if Biden picks Bloomberg as his VP candidate, either you want Trump out of office or there is wiggle room on that for you.