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I had a sobering talk with my brother last night.
He is a professional political organizer in Denver.
Like me, he is a leftist enraged at the abdication of duty by Pelosi, Schumer and Obama.
He tells me D voters on the ground are emotionally exhausted by Trump & the pandemic.
He is a professional political organizer in Denver.
Like me, he is a leftist enraged at the abdication of duty by Pelosi, Schumer and Obama.
He tells me D voters on the ground are emotionally exhausted by Trump & the pandemic.
When my brother talks to pollsters, canvassers, other operatives, and plain D party citizens, he gets the same basic message:
Voters just want Trump and the pandemic to go away. Like it or not, that& #39;s their psychology. They& #39;re not in a mindset to think about big policy or reform
Voters just want Trump and the pandemic to go away. Like it or not, that& #39;s their psychology. They& #39;re not in a mindset to think about big policy or reform
. @andrewperezdc & @playerinthgame have made strong+accurate critiques about the many ways Bernie failed to make his case.
Yet, the more I talk to people, the more I think Bernie could have run a far better campaign yet still not prevented the "fall in line" process on Super Tues
Yet, the more I talk to people, the more I think Bernie could have run a far better campaign yet still not prevented the "fall in line" process on Super Tues
None of what my brother told me -- or what I am saying here -- removes or erases the fact that Bernie f***ed up in a few key ways.
However:
One needs to understand a few core realities about the 2020 primary and what they mean for leftists in the future.
However:
One needs to understand a few core realities about the 2020 primary and what they mean for leftists in the future.
Whether you love him or hate him, it& #39;s a plain fact that Bernie regards himself as a teacher focused on policy. He focuses on a specific set of issues and tries to drive home how important those issues are. That& #39;s who he is, and we know it& #39;s his great strength AND his great flaw.
The 2020 D primary, like it or not, was not decided by "the issues" or policy.
D voters wanted what *they* thought was the safest choice v Trump, and they wanted the primary to end quickly.
That& #39;s why Super Tuesday unfolded as it did, and there really should be no debate on that
D voters wanted what *they* thought was the safest choice v Trump, and they wanted the primary to end quickly.
That& #39;s why Super Tuesday unfolded as it did, and there really should be no debate on that
One can criticize Bernie 4 going soft on Biden, which showed he quite literally was not willing to do *everything* it took to win, which is a significant failure for a self-styled movement leader.
Yet, the primary was decided by voters& #39; conceptions of "electability," not policy.
Yet, the primary was decided by voters& #39; conceptions of "electability," not policy.
Running a campaign based on electability is tantamount to running a campaign in accordance with trying to satisfy TV& #39;s horse-race coverage, & pundits& #39; horse-race mindsets, & citizens& #39; obsession w horse-race coverage.
It is a policy-free message, the antithesis of how Bernie rolls
It is a policy-free message, the antithesis of how Bernie rolls
Bernie thought the primary would be decided based on policy.
Recently, 88% of Democrats polled say they support Bernie& #39;s signature 2020 primary campaign policy, #MedicareForAll
88 PERCENT!
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/25/poll-shows-nearly-90-democratic-support-biden-told-hostility-medicare-all-no-longer
YET">https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020... THEY DIDN& #39;T VOTE FOR HIM, NOT EVEN AFTER THE PANDEMIC SET IN
Recently, 88% of Democrats polled say they support Bernie& #39;s signature 2020 primary campaign policy, #MedicareForAll
88 PERCENT!
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/25/poll-shows-nearly-90-democratic-support-biden-told-hostility-medicare-all-no-longer
YET">https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020... THEY DIDN& #39;T VOTE FOR HIM, NOT EVEN AFTER THE PANDEMIC SET IN
One can fault Bernie for a lot of things, but we& #39;re living in upside-down land when 88% of the people in your party support your NUMBER ONE POLICY PROPOSAL... and you get wiped out by a man who barely campaigned in a number of states he won.
I return to my brother& #39;s points.
I return to my brother& #39;s points.
Throughout my lifetime, I have seen Democratic Party politicians be more concerned with how Republicans think than with how leftists think.
To be sure, a lot of this flows from the reality of corporate control of the Democratic Party, esp. since Bill Clinton & Ron Brown in 1992.
To be sure, a lot of this flows from the reality of corporate control of the Democratic Party, esp. since Bill Clinton & Ron Brown in 1992.
