...is not Bernie.
Bernie is Bernie and will be doing his thing to the bitter end. It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. Bernie is no longer fighting to be President, he is fighting for the issues he cares about. He will keep repeating those lines over and over again until we can recite them verbatim in our sleep. That's what Bernie does and God bless him for it.
Hillary wants to be President so she has to be cautious. She is the boring one, the mom who tells you to eat your vegetables. Nobody likes a bossy Mom. But the American people will eventually, begrudgingly, end up voting for her, if for no other reason than the thought of Donald Trump with his tiny finger on the nuclear button is too much for even Republicans to contemplate.
But there are some problems associated with Bernie. His supporters. Not all of his supporters, but enough of them to cause worry. I would put Bernie supporters into three main groups. There probably are more since the Bernie bunch is very idiosyncratic.
1. Bad Bernie fanatics - We've all come across them. They enjoy insulting Liberals much the same way Trump enjoys insulting Muslims. They are proudly the "Bernie or Bust" crowd. If Bernie doesn't get the nomination they will spazz out, not vote, or vote for Trump, or write in, or vote for a minor candidate who has no chance of winning. In other words, they are political suicide bombers. Not only are they a nuisance, but depending on how many of them they are could have an effect on the election, especially if it is a tight race.
2. Good Bernie fanatics - These Bernie fans are fervently pro-Bernie, got the t-shirt, are engaged, but don't feel the need to insult people who don't feel like them. They are more inclined to make friends, or try to convince people that Bernie's the guy. They rarely get negative unless someone attacks them or attacks Bernie. But they don't go out of their way to piss people off.
3. Bernie supporters - These folks support Bernie without crossing the line into fanaticism. They support Bernie but they will vote for Hillary if Bernie doesn't get the nomination. They do not yell cheater every time Bernie gets outmaneuvered. They understand politics at this level ain't beanbag and do not freak out every time the Clinton campaign pulls another rabbit out of their bag of tricks.
What we don't know is the percentage of each of these groups. It is very difficult to tell and/or measure. We can only hope that the majority are in the second and third group, but nobody really knows.
However, there is another big problem with Bernie, and again, it is none of his fault. The polls consistently show that Bernie beats Trump by a wider margin than Hillary. That is very true if the election were held next week. But, alas, no, the election is in November. What Bernie has never felt is the all-out onslaught the Republicans will wage against him. There is a reason that Republicans pretend they like Bernie. They are convinced it will be easy to pulverize Bernie in a general election. With Hillary, they're not so sure.
Because nobody has laid a glove on Bernie. First, most Democrats don't really believe he will get the nomination, and the Republicans desperately want him to get the nomination. Unfortunately, Bernie just has too many skeletons in the closest, a feast for the GOP oppo researchers. And no, Bernie is not a closet child molester, or anything sordid like that. What he is, and makes no bones about it, is a genuine creature of the Left. Where most of us have let go of all the commie scares of the 50's and 60's, there are plenty of folks who will react to Bernie's past.
And much of it is documented. Some actions have become OK, like his devotion to civil rights, and his frequent anti-war stands. But the GOP will dig out statements that make him look like an old-fashioned Communist. He has said nice things about Castro's Cuba, which is en vogue at the moment but only among the hip. But he has supported Daniel Ortega, of Sandinista fame, a rather unsavory character. He has also dabbled in other assorted left-wing revolutionaries from South America, and how easy would it be to twist his call for a "revolution" into sounding like he's for kidnapping and torture? And that is what is on the surface without any digging. How many nuggets are there for the Republicans to tar and feather him with? By the time the Republicans are through with him he will turn from a kindly grandfatherly type to a Pol Pot type who would murder millions of his own citizens. That's how the GOP wins elections.
Because if it were a straight up debate on the issues, between him and Trump, Bernie would win in a landslide.
Bernie is Bernie and will be doing his thing to the bitter end. It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. Bernie is no longer fighting to be President, he is fighting for the issues he cares about. He will keep repeating those lines over and over again until we can recite them verbatim in our sleep. That's what Bernie does and God bless him for it.
Hillary wants to be President so she has to be cautious. She is the boring one, the mom who tells you to eat your vegetables. Nobody likes a bossy Mom. But the American people will eventually, begrudgingly, end up voting for her, if for no other reason than the thought of Donald Trump with his tiny finger on the nuclear button is too much for even Republicans to contemplate.
But there are some problems associated with Bernie. His supporters. Not all of his supporters, but enough of them to cause worry. I would put Bernie supporters into three main groups. There probably are more since the Bernie bunch is very idiosyncratic.
 |
| Bernie shows his enthusiasm |
1. Bad Bernie fanatics - We've all come across them. They enjoy insulting Liberals much the same way Trump enjoys insulting Muslims. They are proudly the "Bernie or Bust" crowd. If Bernie doesn't get the nomination they will spazz out, not vote, or vote for Trump, or write in, or vote for a minor candidate who has no chance of winning. In other words, they are political suicide bombers. Not only are they a nuisance, but depending on how many of them they are could have an effect on the election, especially if it is a tight race.
2. Good Bernie fanatics - These Bernie fans are fervently pro-Bernie, got the t-shirt, are engaged, but don't feel the need to insult people who don't feel like them. They are more inclined to make friends, or try to convince people that Bernie's the guy. They rarely get negative unless someone attacks them or attacks Bernie. But they don't go out of their way to piss people off.
3. Bernie supporters - These folks support Bernie without crossing the line into fanaticism. They support Bernie but they will vote for Hillary if Bernie doesn't get the nomination. They do not yell cheater every time Bernie gets outmaneuvered. They understand politics at this level ain't beanbag and do not freak out every time the Clinton campaign pulls another rabbit out of their bag of tricks.
What we don't know is the percentage of each of these groups. It is very difficult to tell and/or measure. We can only hope that the majority are in the second and third group, but nobody really knows.
However, there is another big problem with Bernie, and again, it is none of his fault. The polls consistently show that Bernie beats Trump by a wider margin than Hillary. That is very true if the election were held next week. But, alas, no, the election is in November. What Bernie has never felt is the all-out onslaught the Republicans will wage against him. There is a reason that Republicans pretend they like Bernie. They are convinced it will be easy to pulverize Bernie in a general election. With Hillary, they're not so sure.
Because nobody has laid a glove on Bernie. First, most Democrats don't really believe he will get the nomination, and the Republicans desperately want him to get the nomination. Unfortunately, Bernie just has too many skeletons in the closest, a feast for the GOP oppo researchers. And no, Bernie is not a closet child molester, or anything sordid like that. What he is, and makes no bones about it, is a genuine creature of the Left. Where most of us have let go of all the commie scares of the 50's and 60's, there are plenty of folks who will react to Bernie's past.
And much of it is documented. Some actions have become OK, like his devotion to civil rights, and his frequent anti-war stands. But the GOP will dig out statements that make him look like an old-fashioned Communist. He has said nice things about Castro's Cuba, which is en vogue at the moment but only among the hip. But he has supported Daniel Ortega, of Sandinista fame, a rather unsavory character. He has also dabbled in other assorted left-wing revolutionaries from South America, and how easy would it be to twist his call for a "revolution" into sounding like he's for kidnapping and torture? And that is what is on the surface without any digging. How many nuggets are there for the Republicans to tar and feather him with? By the time the Republicans are through with him he will turn from a kindly grandfatherly type to a Pol Pot type who would murder millions of his own citizens. That's how the GOP wins elections.
Because if it were a straight up debate on the issues, between him and Trump, Bernie would win in a landslide.
I always enjoy reading you...
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