This doesn’t surprise me at all. People don’t vote for a Presidential candidate based on position papers and policy analyses (otherwise we’d have President Warren). They vote based on whether they feel the candidate “gets” their fears and aspirations. And Trump and Sanders both ran on a platform that working people were being screwed over by a corrupt, entrenched elite (comprised of both Republicans and Democrats) that they alone had the guts to take on.
Still, that’s got to be some special kind of dumb. To fail to see significant differences between the two betokens a severe starvation of crucial nutrients in the womb.
Again you are missing the point, they don’t care about the differences between them, they feel they “get” them each one in it’s own manner.
To a point (and I say as someone whose country seems to be about to fall in the claws of a crazy idiot that many think “gets” them) they are not hypothetically so mistaken:
Suppose you are drowning, there are 4 candidates to save you, 2 of them (A and B) are rational but don’t seem too enthusiastic about it “we’ll save you, eventually, when the market conditions are right…”
C says that he’s going to save you unleashing the invisible hand of the market.
D says that he’s going to nationalize all helicopter companies and send 5 of them to save you.
Both C and D are definitely (in your eyes) champing at the bit in their desire to help you.
Would you really care if you are saved by the invisible hand of the market or the glorious socialist republic?, you want a candidate that cares about saving you.
Not if you know that A and B will most likely grudgingly throw you a life preserver. C will walk away with a promise to help you later when you are actively drowning, and D is just as likely to also leave to find a helicopter as they are to actively help you, although granted if they do help it would be more enthusiastically than A or B.
Yeah, you and me know that, but it’s not so evident to them.
Hmm, well the last time a Republican actually won a California senate seat was Pete Wilson back in 1988. Since then, the last time it was even close was Feinstein’s victory in 1994 over Michael Huffington.
And let’s be honest, A&B might not get around to throwing you, personally, that life preserver. They have lots of competing priorities, there are lots of other people clamoring for the limited supply of life preservers, and both A&B are honest enough to let that slip. C&D are much more consistently promising to actually help you, you personally.
And Huffington was about as liberal as Republicans got at the time so not even close to a Republican now.
Egggzactly.
Smart. It’s probably too late to shift into full campaign mode at this late date against three serious competitors. Moreover it keeps her in reasonably good graces with the Congressional Black Caucus that on the one hand are very carefully saying nice things about her, but on the other are still backing Barbara Lee to the hilt. Just getting this on her resume and being a solid caretaker will set her up for future opportunities if she becomes interested.
Another Democrat has just jumped-in, along with former Dodger Steve Garvey on the Republican side.
Not that I think either of them have a shot.