# Sanders v Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 24, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272 "2015-12-24T16:48:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/61 "2016-01-16T14:01:19Z")
Maybe, but candidates have always run to the base in primaries, to the center in general elections. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/62 "2016-01-16T16:08:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **adaher** : > > One of the problems with a Trump vs. Sanders matchup is that Trump has an easy way to beat Sanders: just emphasize the fact that he’s a fairly liberal Republican, rather than a blowhard racist. That might be fairly easy, for a candidate who hasn’t based his entire campaign thus far on being a blowhard racist. I mean, seriously, if you take that out, Trump has nothing. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/63 "2016-01-16T19:48:19Z")
Agree it actually would decrease his one path to winning. His chance is predicated upon driving turn out of the less educated White vote far above historic norms in addition to getting an overwhelming share of that vote. If he does not deliver on that then he really has no chance. If he does that and only loses a moderate amount of the White educated vote, and the Hispanic vote mostly continues to sit on its collective ass, then he has a path. Try to sell the story that he is _actually_ fairly liberal? Not the way to do that. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/64 "2016-01-16T20:14:49Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > One of the problems with a Trump vs. Sanders matchup is that Trump has an easy way to beat Sanders: just emphasize the fact that he’s a fairly liberal Republican, rather than a blowhard racist. It’s a lot easier for Trump to move to the center(especially since he’s already there on most issues) than Sanders. > > Heck, this could all just be Trump’s master plan: throw red meat to the base in the primaries, emphasize his centrism in the general. You’re assuming that the electorate has no memory. The downside of dominating the news for a year is that a ton of people remember what you said. A move to the center would have no credibility with the center and only piss off the right. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/65 "2016-01-16T21:09:48Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > You’re assuming that the electorate has no memory. The downside of dominating the news for a year is that a ton of people remember what you said. Hasn’t history shown that though a ton of people may remember, there are also plenty that have no memory? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/66 "2016-01-16T22:02:07Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > Hasn’t history shown that though a ton of people may remember, there are also plenty that have no memory? Sadly, it appears that this is manifestly true. Trump entered this election cycle with two items on his record that should have been front and center in people’s memories: one, that he was an attention-seeking self-aggrandizing blowhard who pretended to run in every presidential election but was never serious about it, and two, his crackpot venture into birtherism. He was the guy who claimed to have sent private detectives to Hawaii because he “didn’t know” where Obama was born, and informed everyone that they “wouldn’t believe” what these detectives were discovering. Then Obama produced his long form birth certificate and Trump got out of the birther business. What should have been two great big red flags announcing a dilettante blowhard with no real ideas didn’t prevent Trump from attracting a base of idiots large enough to propel him to first place. What this tells me is the Trump would probably not have much difficulty moving to the center and broadening his platform for the general election. Whether this would win over Sanders is a different question. I don’t see how it could. Centrist or not, Trump is still an idiot blowhard. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/67 "2016-01-17T05:15:41Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > You’re assuming that the electorate has no memory. The downside of dominating the news for a year is that a ton of people remember what you said. A move to the center would have no credibility with the center and only piss off the right. People have memory, but a common defense of partisans everywhere is “That’s old news”. And it often works. Remember all the bad things Clinton said about Obama? The Republicans tried to use some of that, and Clinton just said, “I do not endorse that message” and it was good enough. Clinton’s supporting Obama NOW, and that’s all that matters. Donald Trump is moderate NOW, so that’s all that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/68 "2016-01-17T22:07:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Remember all the bad things Clinton said about Obama? Not particularly. Got any examples? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/69 "2016-01-19T21:53:55Z")
A fascinating aspect of a Sanders - Trump matchup that no one has noticed yet, is that it would pit 2 candidates neither of whom is a practicing Christian. Sanders is Jewish-agnostic, and Trump says he’s a Presbyterian but he’s lying. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/70 "2016-01-20T02:31:55Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > . . . and Trump says he’s a Presbyterian but he’s lying. Actually, acting like only some people matter, while it might not be very Christian, does sound pretty Calvinist. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/71 "2016-01-20T04:26:10Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > A fascinating aspect of a Sanders - Trump matchup that no one has noticed yet, is that it would pit 2 candidates neither of whom is a practicing Christian. Sanders is Jewish-agnostic, and Trump says he’s a Presbyterian but he’s lying. :dubious: If Trump’s not a Christian, what is he then? If we’re policing how often the candidates go to church, well, I don’t think Obama & McCain were in church every Sunday, either. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/72 "2016-01-20T09:33:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Not particularly. Got any examples? Why bother? The same people who said that her campaign was hurting her future viability and that she should drop out for the good of the party forgave and forgot. Mostly forgot. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/73 "2016-01-20T09:36:06Z")
Funny line from a New Yorker piece: > [@](#): > > It is hard to picture Sanders (much less Trump) in the Situation Room, but, if Democratic voters were to feel as liberated from the constraints of prudence as their Republican counterparts seem to, anything might happen. We could have a radical from Brooklyn and a real-estate guy from Queens facing off in debates that would sound like nothing so much as an argument on the B41 bus as it barrels down Flatbush Avenue to Kings Plaza. > **[Hillary Feels the Bern](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/01/25/radical-measures)** > > The more extreme the Republicans appear the more plausible Sanders becomes as a candidate. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/74 "2016-01-20T11:34:31Z")
Yes, how dare they not be WASPs from somewhere not Long Island? e\_e ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/75 "2016-01-20T14:24:08Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > :dubious: If Trump’s not a Christian, what is he then? > > If we’re policing how often the candidates go to church, well, I don’t think Obama & McCain were in church every Sunday, either. Agreed that Obama doesn’t seem particularly devout. But at least he has the ability to fake it, and knows the right words to say at the right time. Trump has zero interest and doesn’t care if it shows. (Ironically, Obama took flak in 2008 for attending the wrong church (Jeremiah Wright’s). Trump would probably be happy if somebody spotted him in _any_ church.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/76 "2016-01-20T15:10:08Z")
“He claims to be religious but isn’t really” is a charge that can be and has been laid against every candidate in history, and pretty often, it’s probably even true. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/77 "2016-01-20T15:17:55Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Agreed that Obama doesn’t seem particularly devout. [“That the true religious identity of the world’s most famous, most powerful man could remain a mystery to so many is itself a mystery. Before and especially during his presidency, Obama has been extraordinarily open on matters of faith, providing ample evidence for his repeated claim to be a devout Christian.”](http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/juneweb-only/barack-obama-evangelical-in-chief.html) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/78 "2016-01-20T17:05:08Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > :dubious: If Trump’s not a Christian, what is he then? A Trumpist, obviously. Trump is God and God is HYUUUUUGE!!! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272/79 "2016-01-20T17:09:57Z")
Trump on Holy Communion > [@](#): > > “When I drink my little wine – which is about the only wine I drink – and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of asking for forgiveness, and I do that as often as possible because I feel cleansed,” he said. “I think in terms of ‘let’s go on and let’s make it right.’” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sanders-v-trump/741272.md?page=3)