Why Bernie Sanders Still Can — And Should — Win The Nomination

[beourbud]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rose-ann-demoro/why-bernie-sanders-still_b_10154256.html

 

A troika of the Hillary Clinton campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and their echo chamber in the major media are laboring to assure everyone that the Democratic nomination process is over.

 

They’ve failed to convince the people who actually vote and see Bernie Sanders wins in Indiana, West Virginia, Oregon, and a virtual tie in Kentucky. Here’s 10 reasons why Bernie can still win, is the strongest candidate for November, and is helping build something the nation desperately needs.

 

1. Sanders, the best bet to beat Trump - just wait until the debate.

 

The latest average of polls give Clinton an edge of less than 2 points over Trump, Sanders an edge five times greater. While narrowing Clinton’s margin, Trump has yet to make a dent on Sanders’ lead - the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll May 22 has Clinton plus 3 on Trump, Sanders plus 15.

 

State polls buttress the numbers. Ohio: Clinton plus 5, Sanders plus 9. Pennsylvania: Clinton plus 1, Sanders plus 6. New Hampshire: Clinton plus 2, Sanders plus 16. North Carolina: Clinton plus 9, Sanders plus 18. New Jersey: Clinton plus 7, Sanders plus 12. Arizona: Clinton minus 4, Sanders plus 1. Georgia: Clinton, minus 4, Sanders plus 5. And just in from California: Clinton plus 10, Sanders plus 17.

 

And the much anticipated #BernieTrumpDebate will likely push those margins through the roof.

 

2. Yes, you can believe these polls.

 

It’s not a mirage; it’s been a fact for months and is reinforced every time new polls are released.

 

The Clinton and media narrative is that Sanders polls better against Trump than Clinton because he hasn’t been subject to attacks. Really? That’s what the major media, especially in the New York to Washington DC corridor, have done for months.

 

Oceans of ink have been devoted to publicizing one-sided “studies” vilifying Sanders’ proposals on Medicare for all and free tuition at public colleges, and to attacking Sanders political philosophy, record in Congress, and ability to pass his program, all while veering between trying to marginalize Sanders or mock him.

 

Additionally, the Clinton Super Pac, headed by David Brock, notorious for his demonization of Anita Hill, has planted unfavorable stories on Sanders in the media and hired trolls to malign Sanders and Sanders supporters on social media platforms.

 

None of that has caused Sanders standing against Trump to fall (especially compared to how Trump has steadily gained on Clinton).

 

3. Yes, you can believe those polls, part 2

 

If not lack of attacks, what else explains the difference?

 

First, Bernie’s base - the overwhelming support of independent voters, and mass enthusiasm of young voters.

 

Clinton built her margin among traditional Democratic voters, but continues to lag among many working class independents likely to be hotly contested in November. Sanders, as he has shown throughout the primary season, is much more likely to hold those voters than Clinton.

 

Further, it’s unknown if the hundreds of thousands of young voters enthused by the Sanders campaign will turn out in November for another candidate.

 

4. Lots of votes still to be counted

 

More than 7.7 million Democrats in California alone, and several million more independents, are eligible to vote in the California Democratic primary June 7. Voter registration, especially among young Democrats inspired by Sanders candidacy, has exploded this year. On the final day of registration May 23, despite the media drumbeat that their votes don’t matter, nearly 200,000 Californians registered to vote in the primary.

 

 

Voters in the District of Columbia, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and the Virgin Islands are also yet to be heard from. That’s 781 pledged delegates still to be won, nearly three times the current difference between Clinton and Sanders.

 

It remains highly unlikely that either candidate will reach the magic number of bound delegates by the end of the primary season. Clinton would need to win 79 percent of the remaining pledged delegates to clinch prior to the convention. That will not happen.

 

5. Momentum matters

 

Sports teams with momentum typically are the ones who win championships. It’s true in politics as well. Coming into the outstanding election calendar, Sanders has won 12 of the past 20 contests, with a 13th, Kentucky, effectively a tie. He is also likely to win a majority of the remaining votes. The image of a wounded candidate staggering into a party convention or the general election is not reassuring.

 

6. Super delegates will decide the nomination

 

The 719 unpledged super delegates will end up deciding the nomination - as occurred in 2008 when neither Barack Obama nor Clinton had enough pledged delegates alone to win.

 

As Sanders has noted, Clinton lined up support from hundreds of super delegates long before the primary season began. But on the convention floor, super delegates can vote for who ever they like. And, if the Democrats want to stop Trump, they should opt for the candidate who most consistently beats him in every poll, Bernie Sanders.

 

7. The most trusted candidate

 

Trump and Clinton, both viewed unfavorably by 57 percent of voters in a recent ABC/Washington Post poll, are rapidly lowering one bar. Or as the Post put it, “never in the history of the Post-ABC poll have the two major party nominees been viewed as harshly as Clinton and Trump.”

 

There is an alternative. Throughout the primary season, Sanders has maintained favorable ratings, and in virtually every exit poll, even in states Clinton won, Sanders rated far ahead of her in trust and honesty.

 

Lack of trust in our political leaders is a significant reason why Congress is viewed with such disdain and why so many Americans have become disenchanted with the U.S. political system, ultimately comprising a genuine threat to democracy, another reason why super delegates concerned about restoring faith in the system would be well served by supporting Sanders.

 

8. A public yearning for real change

 

As has been evident for months, voters across the political spectrum are in revolt, which as much as anything else explains why Trump is the last one standing on the GOP side.

 

Sanders has reached a core of the disaffected who are drawn to his vision for real change, and those fed up with what he aptly calls a rigged economy and campaign finance system and the grotesque inequality that has seen the bulk of wealth and income transferred to the top 1 percent.

 

That support emerges from his consistent opposition to job-killing trade pacts, as well as the most comprehensive solutions for access to education and ending student debt, the climate crisis, job creation, reigning in Wall Street, criminal justice and immigration reform, and, guaranteed healthcare through Medicare for all.

 

One sign of the resonance of those issues across the political spectrum is the recent Gallup poll showing 58 percent of all Americans now favor the Medicare for all system proposed by Sanders which nurses have proposed for many years.

 

9. Who will really unite the Democratic Party?

 

The DNC hierarchy and some in the media have been quick to dismiss the hundreds of thousands of people who have packed the Sanders rallies from coast to coast. Think about that. Tens of thousands of people turning out, not for a Beyonce or Springsteen concert or the Super Bowl, but to listen to a one-hour speech by a 74-year-old politician who was largely unknown a year ago.

 

Sanders probably explains it the best, as he did in a Southern California rally this week. As the crowd chanted “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie,” he responded, “it ain’t Bernie, Bernie, Bernie. It’s You, You. You.”

 

All those “you’s” form the core of a grassroots mobilization that is necessary to win in November. Obama’s campaign, and the vision of hope and change it inspired, generated the tens of thousands of volunteers that were critical to electing him. Sanders is the only Democratic candidate who has inspired a similar base of activists.

 

10. It’s about the future

 

Or as Sanders also explained, the enthusiasm “should be a message to the Democratic Party” that the vision and hope being inspired today, especially among young people, “is the future of America.”

 

Political views and preferences formed at historic ruptures can affix political allegiances for decades. Following the Civil War, the anti-slavery Republican Party controlled the White House for half a century. Similarly, the New Deal coalition - the Democratic Party alliance with working class America born during the Great Depression - dominated U.S. politics for decades.

 

If the Democratic Party today aligns itself, especially with young voters, for a clear vision that rejects the neo-liberal policies that have ruled both major parties since the 1970s, and embraces an agenda for transforming the nation they can ride the wave of change. Or be left behind.

[Smallbiz]

????????^^^^

[+Malamute]

I am actually wearing my Bernie shirt today and am under no delusion that he can win the democratic primary. Bernie started at 3% when the primary campaign started. He will finish around 45%+. This says more about how horrible Hillary is than anything.

 

First shelost to a black guy named Iraq Sadam Hussein Osama Bin Laden. HAHAHA.... That says something unto itself. ( I am a Obama supporter totally too, this was sarcasm for those with delicate fee' fee's)

Now she almost lost to an Independent democratic socialist(whom I support).

 

 Lucky for her, the republicans put up a spoiled clueless child.

 

 

[dutchfarm]

The debate is off (between Sanders and Trump). Trump the chickenshoot that he really is knows he would not stand a chance in debating Bernie, Trumps IQ is about the same as his shoe size!!!! It was Bill Clinton's policies that got us started on this downhill slide we have been on for some time now, along with the Bush's help, and here we are,if you want the same old shat vote for Billary and Trump, if you REALLY want things to change, as I pray for it to happen, then put your vote on Bernie Sanders!!!

Farmer Brown

[zachw]

Bernie has way less votes than Hillary. He does great in caucuses that overweight the impact of political activists and indeed LOST by a large margin in the Washington primary that was held AFTER the caucus in which he won. Bernie supporters are totally in denial if they think he somehow "deserves" to win because the "system is rigged":

 

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-system-isnt-rigged-against-sanders/

 

I used to be a Bernie supporter, but no longer. The most rabid of Bernie supporters ("independents", not "democrats") will not support Hillary even against the likes of the race-bating, misogynistic, serial bankruptcy con-artist, 70% lying, climate change denier, trade war promoter, nuclear arms escalator, reviled by world leaders,  ignoramus Donald Trump.

 

Hopefully the more rational among Bernie supporters will understand the risks to the United States of denying the vote to Hillary.

[zachw]

The debate is off (between Sanders and Trump). Trump the chickenshoot that he really is knows he would not stand a chance in debating Bernie, Trumps IQ is about the same as his shoe size!!!! It was Bill Clinton's policies that got us started on this downhill slide we have been on for some time now, along with the Bush's help, and here we are,if you want the same old shat vote for Billary and Trump, if you REALLY want things to change, as I pray for it to happen, then put your vote on Bernie Sanders!!!

Farmer Brown

 

Knew it wasn't going to happen. Hillary said the same. That the for-sure-non-nominee-Bernie would even consider debating nominee Trump is bizarre. He is how guided by his own fantasies that he could somehow turn around California and get super delegates to switch regardless of the majority of votes that Hillary has. And in doing so, he would give Trump another forum with more media time to show dissension among dems, use Bernie's arguments against Hillary, and upstage her in a debate in which she wasn't present.

 

Bernie has some power at the Dem convention now and is raising money for other local candidates. That's great but it is time to bow out gracefully from his campaign.  I contributed more than once to the Sanders campaign and feel pissed & taken for a ride since he is now doing more damage than good to the Dems. 

[Willy]

http://www.salon.com/2016/04/12/this_system_is_so_rigged_outrage_as_superdelegate_system_undermines_democracy_giving_clinton_unfair_edge_over_sanders/

 

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee and a close ally of Clinton, has herself openly admitted that the superdelegate system exists to undermine grassroots democracy within the party.

[Wild Bill]

Unfortunately the truth hurts. The only way Trump can win is if he is running against Clinton.

 

Too bad there's no scenarios where the people win.

[Wild Bill]

Clinton may be indicted before the election. That would definitely throw a monkey wrench into the gears.

[t-pain]

I used to be a Bernie supporter, but no longer. The most rabid of Bernie supporters ("independents", not "democrats") will not support Hillary even against the likes of the race-bating, misogynistic, serial bankruptcy con-artist, 70% lying, climate change denier, trade war promoter, nuclear arms escalator, reviled by world leaders,  ignoramus Donald Trump.

 

Hopefully the more rational among Bernie supporters will understand the risks to the United States of denying the vote to Hillary.

i still support bernie because he is anti-war.

 

hillary has been right in the middle of that libya, syria nonsense right there with obama.

 

trump says we cant pay for wars either, so he at least understands, but its hard to tell what hes going to do if elected. of course you cant really tell what any of these people are going to do if elected.

 

except bernie. bernie is consistent. except for his silly billy vote to war in afghanistan.

 

a trump v hillary election? thats tough for us anti-war voters.

it was an easier choice when it was mccain v obama. because obama was saying no more war in iraq. are we still at war in afghanistan? mccain wanted "100 years war".

 

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/national-security/

Defeating ISIS. ISIS and the foreign terrorist fighters it recruits pose a serious threat to America and our allies. We will confront and defeat them in a way that builds greater stability across the region, without miring our troops in another misguided ground war. Hillary will empower our partners to defeat terrorism and the ideologies that drive it, including through our ongoing partnership to build Iraqi military and governing capacity, our commitment to Afghanistan’s democracy and security, and by supporting efforts to restore stability to Libya and Yemen.

 

 

Standing up to Putin. Hillary has gone toe-to-toe with Putin before, and she'll do it again. She'll stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our European allies and help them decrease dependence on Russian oil. With our partners, Hillary will confine, contain, and deter Russian aggressions in Europe and beyond, and increase the costs to Putin for his actions.

how are you going to defeat isis without a ground war? magic i guess.

she wants to fight isis (thats iraq and syria) , plus afghanistan, libya and yemen. thats 5 countries to war with.

 

5 countries of war. we dont even have clean water or safe bridges in michigan and hillary wants us to be in 5 different wars ?

 

 

why would anyone fight RUSSIA? do you want another cold war? or a serious war with russia? are you insane?

 

i think russia has won every proxy war we've ever been a part of. cuba? vietnam? bosnia? kosovo? afghanistan? crimea? yeah its time to stop proxy warring.

 

do you know why i bring up proxy wars? who do you think will be funding the rebels in each of these countries (iraq, libya, syria, yemen, afghanistan)? russia. the same russia that funded the rebels in the past. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.

 

 

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/issues/

 

I will make our Military so big, powerful and strong that no one will mess with us.

the video also says he will get rid of ISIS "so fast".

 

our military is already the #1 in the world. we spend more on military than the next 5 countries combined. so thats done already.

 

 

"As of December 2015, ISIS has control over Iraq and Syria."

 

 

ISIS is the current government of huge parts of iraq and syria.

 

hillary and trump are exactly the same on this issue, both wanting to overthrow this iraq government that took over from our puppet usa-iraq government.

 

usa likes the shiite muslims in iraq. ISIS is the suuni muslims.

the Shiite's and Suuni's are in the middle of a civil war that has been going on for thousands of years. saddam hussein was a dictator in that region where he was able to quell the civil war, if brutally.

 

i'm sorry you are in a civil war, but why should we spend our tax dollars to fight in your religious war?

its a simple question and i have seen no answers. only answer i've seen is oil, we are there for oil in afghanistan and iraq. thats it. its all about oil.

 

so for that reason, flower hillary and trump.

 

 

https://berniesanders.com/issues/war-and-peace/

 

 

 

 

As President, Sen. Sanders will:

1. Move away from a policy of unilateral military action, and toward a policy of emphasizing diplomacy, and ensuring the decision to go to war is a last resort.

 

2.Ensure that any military action we do engage in has clear goals, is limited in scope, and whenever possible provides support to our allies in the region.

 

3.Close Guantanamo Bay, rein in the National Security Agency, abolish the use of torture, and remember what truly makes America exceptional: our values.

 

4.Expand our global influence by promoting fair trade, addressing global climate change, providing humanitarian relief and economic assistance, defending the rule of law, and promoting human rights.

further

 

While we must be relentless in combating terrorists who would do us harm, we cannot and should not be policeman of the world, nor bear the burden of fighting terrorism alone. The United States should be part of an international coalition, led and sustained by nations in the region that have the means to protect themselves. That is the only way to defeat ISIS and to begin the process of creating the conditions for a lasting peace in the region.”

i mean, hes wrong about peace in the region being possible right now. but at least we wont be picking sides in a religious war.

[Highlander]

We will never see peace in the Middle East until the stupid borders drawn after WWI are sorted out. The borders were drawn for the benefit of the allies who defeated the Ottoman Empire - not for political stability. No wonder all of the factions there hate each other and western countries still. No puppet government of the U.S. will solve the problem. The solution has to come from within, which, unfortunately will require much bloodshed.

[zachw]

Hopefully the more powerful Democrats that are sticking with Clinton so far will see the light and switch their delegate vote to Bernie Sanders. He's the better choice, the candidate that brings more voters to the polls and wins because of the increased turnout. Maybe we'll get a chance to see how cooperative Clinton supporters are when asked to do the same.

 

So you want to subvert what little democracy there is in the convention by giving the nomination to the person with far less overall votes?

 

You don't care about rigging the system as long as it's for Bernie?

[Highlander]

Zach...please understand that Hillary made deals with super delegates long ago - well before Bernie was a factor.

[dutchfarm]

 

So you want to subvert what little democracy there is in the convention by giving the nomination to the person with far less overall votes?

 

You don't care about rigging the system as long as it's for Bernie?

If Billary wins the nomination, my wife and I will be doing a write-in, if there are any that have been pre-approved( according to my local election committee, anyone running on a write-in has to be preapproved), hopefully Bernie will be a write-in, if Billary takes it. Cannot believe folks would want more of the samo-samo by voting for Billary or Trump( he really is no different than the rest and really has no clue what living at the income level that most of us do). Gary Johnson, fromer Gov. of N.Mexico is now a contender too, hopefully he will take votes from Trump.

Farmer and Mrs. Brown

[Restorium2]

hmmm

 

[suneday11]

Hmmm....a lot of Hillary hate on here. Makes me wonder why I got attacked a few months ago for saying the same stuff. Smh. I suppose I'm just ahead of the curve

[zachw]

 

If Billary wins the nomination, my wife and I will be doing a write-in, if there are any that have been pre-approved( according to my local election committee, anyone running on a write-in has to be preapproved), hopefully Bernie will be a write-in, if Billary takes it. Cannot believe folks would want more of the samo-samo by voting for Billary or Trump( he really is no different than the rest and really has no clue what living at the income level that most of us do). Gary Johnson, fromer Gov. of N.Mexico is now a contender too, hopefully he will take votes from Trump.

Farmer and Mrs. Brown

 

So your wife & you will be ostensibly helping Trump to win. The Nader votes in Florida likely gave us GW as prez, remember that.

Edited May 30, 2016 by zachw

[zachw]

Zach...please understand that Hillary made deals with super delegates long ago - well before Bernie was a factor.

 

It's totally irrelevant. Hillary has the most popular votes, regardless of delegates & superdelegates.

[Restorium2]

I see an obvious Clinton/Sanders ticket on the horizon. 

 

How many will still feel the Bern? And how many will just feel burnt? 

[Wild Bill]

So your wife & you will be ostensibly helping Trump to win. The Nader votes in Florida likely gave us GW as prez, remember that.

 

I thought the hanging chads, rigged election commission and crooked courts gave George W the win.

Not really anything to do with voters.

[+Malamute]

So your wife & you will be ostensibly helping Trump to win. The Nader votes in Florida likely gave us GW as prez, remember that.

 

 

Heh.

 

I blame the people that voted for Bush for Bush being elected.

 

Final recounts, after the Supreme Court appointed election, showed Gore with more votes. Also, the ballots are horrible. When I lived in Illinois they used the exact same ballots and hole poking things.  The hole pokes run down the middle of the ballot book and sometimes it is very hard to tell EXACTLY which hole to punch because they do not line up perfectly. I once had to actually go out and ask the lady which hole to punch because the arrow sat between two holes to punch.

 

And with that, I say refer to Pat Buchanons votes in Florida due to that exact problem.  The way the voting books work and ballot and holes line up as you flip through the book, several counties  showed Buchanon, due to location of hole punch on ballot, ended up with likely 4,000 more votes than intended across multiple counties. And because if holes do not line up properly, it causes multiple votes in a single race and no vote on some because you punched the wrong hole, sometimes at no fault of your own, thus killing your ballot and negating your presidential pick sometimes which likely killed another 10,000 net votes to Gore.

 

Quick reference to type of issue. Research for more if wanted. Just first link that came up: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/09/us/2000-elections-palm-beach-ballot-florida-democrats-say-ballot-s-design-hurt-gore.html?pagewanted=all

 

This whole blame Nader is nonsense.  People vote third party in this country. I voted for Harry Browne myself in 2000.  It isnt my fault Bush was elected.

[t-pain]

I see an obvious Clinton/Sanders ticket on the horizon.

thats the logical thing to do, but that wont happen. at least as far as i can tell. i could be wrong.

[dutchfarm]

 

So your wife & you will be ostensibly helping Trump to win. The Nader votes in Florida likely gave us GW as prez, remember that.

 Does not matter Trump or Clinton, one and the same!!! I will not vote for either!!!

Farmer Brown

[Restorium2]

thats the logical thing to do, but that wont happen. at least as far as i can tell. i could be wrong.

Right, right, I need to quit reading ahead and spoiling it for everyone. This fight for the nomination needs to reach a proper crescendo before the make-up and consolidation. Without that it will sound a little flat. Gotta keep em separated until the perfect moment for the famous final scene where they run across the field of wild flowers and hug. 

[phaquetoo]

Hmmm....a lot of Hillary hate on here. Makes me wonder why I got attacked a few months ago for saying the same stuff. Smh. I suppose I'm just ahead of the curve

im slow I guess what does smh mean lol!

 

Peace