Ever since Super Tuesday, Bernie Sanders has been getting trounced. Democrats have “come home” for Joe Biden, because Biden is a known (and knowable) figure within the Democratic Party, and he is trusted to make deals and call out malarkey. He’s respected within the African-American community. Seniors trust him on social programs they rely on. Voters like me – in the 35 to 50-year-old demographic – know that he’s the safe option, and we have pleasant memories of Biden as President Obama’s veep, friend and advisor. So all of that came together for Biden. Perhaps some of it was even the anti-Bernie vote, which is not being discussed that much – Sanders’ voters can be framed as “anti-Hillary,” or “anti-establishment” or whatever, but how many people voted for Biden or Liz Warren because those candidates are not Bernie Sanders?
So, Sanders did not have a good week. Not only did he lose Michigan – a state in which his campaign poured a lot resources – it’s now looking like Biden has pulled ahead of Sanders in Washington State, which was widely assumed to be a Sanders-majority. There are so many stories about how Democrats are trying to “nudge” Sanders out of the race. He didn’t address his people on Tuesday night, and instead chose to make a speech yesterday mid-afternoon. The basic gist is that Sanders isn’t dropping out, he’s hellbent on debating Biden on Sunday, and Sanders is more concerned with taking down Joe Biden than Donald Trump. I knew that would happen. In any case, don’t expect Elizabeth Warren to endorse Sanders. She won’t endorse anyone for a while:
Senator Elizabeth Warren, whose endorsement became highly coveted in the Democratic presidential race after she dropped out last week, is unlikely to endorse her ideological ally Senator Bernie Sanders, according to several people close to her, even though Mr. Sanders is looking for political lifelines as he struggles against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Ms. Warren is expected to withhold her endorsement from Mr. Sanders as well as Mr. Biden at this point, choosing to let the primary play out rather than seek to change its course, according to several people familiar with Ms. Warren’s thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss her considerations.
Even before Mr. Sanders lost four states in Tuesday’s primaries, dealing a huge blow to his presidential hopes, Ms. Warren was reluctant to support him, these people said. The spirited presidential campaign caused some rifts between the two liberals, including their clash in January over whether Mr. Sanders once told her that a woman couldn’t be elected president in 2020, an episode that deeply troubled her. Her camp also viewed Mr. Sanders’s electoral standing as fading in recent weeks, raising doubts about whether an endorsement would be a lost cause.
Ms. Warren has spoken to Mr. Biden once since Super Tuesday but multiple times to Mr. Sanders, as she and her team have fielded overtures from Sanders supporters seeking to coax her to his aid.
The Times goes on to note that Sanders’ unhinged fans are now harassing Warren to endorse him straight away, and this is after they harassed her to leave the race, calling her a “snake” and attacking her right and left. Yeah. Warren won’t endorse Bernie Sanders. And considering Sanders isn’t leaving the race any time soon, now would be a good time for him to remind his supporters that they need all of the allies they can get, so they should stop attacking and threatening people.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
He’s a narcissist. And it’s interesting to me that his supporters cant see that. But then again a lot of his supporters act and sound like Trump supporters so I guess that’s to be expected.
His supporters are the ones beliving, that a guy being senator for three decades is not part of the establishment.
Soooo.., *shrugs*
Exactly
Strong cognitive dissonance
So, I follow Politico, and I see he’s going to give a speech. I think to myself, I’m going to watch because he’s probably going to say thank you to his team, drop out of the race and tell people to support Biden. But NOPE. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing….I have no words.
He’s going to get shut out next week in the four primaries. It’s going to be especially brutal in FL and IL.
FL after his Castro comment is going to take his head off. After Michigan, I expect Ohio and Illinois to go Biden.
I agree, I’m from Florida and he might has well cut his head off with his Castro statement. NO way will he win Florida.
Sanders is the ultimate Bernie Bro. He doesn’t know what to do when bullying and tantrumming no longer work.
Typical Bernie…always putting his personal interest above the greater good! It’s always ‘him against the establishment’, right? Smh…
Considering that he IS the establishment, it’s especially cute.
And by cute I mean galling.
He hates the establishment and insults them and his fans accuse them of conspiring against Bernie but Bernie still wants to run as a member of their party, use their resources and money and his fans want the DNC to nominate him as the nominee to the same party they accuse of being biased and corrupt??????
Left wing or not I can see why the DNC don’t want to get behind Bernie.
So Bernie bros accused DNC of cheating when Amy & Pete dropped out and endorsed Biden but now they want Liz to do the same?????
I don’t agree that Sanders is still fighting Biden. That speech was pretty close to a concession speech. I got the sense that he is using Sunday’s debate, and the leverage he still has, to try to get Biden to adopt some of his positions.
The whole speech sounded to me like he was tacitly acknowledging that Biden was going to be the nominee.
that’s what I thought also.
This makes sense to me.
I heard that he has asked for a meeting with Biden’s people before the debate and is giving them a list of topics he wants to discuss to move Biden on those issues before he drops out.
I hadn’t heard that Sanders wanted to meet with Biden, it’s good to hear.
And Biden doesn’t need to pander to Bernie. He doesn’t need to offer him concessions. He doesn’t need to make changes to his platform to pacify Saint Bernard.
Of course, Mr. Progressive-if-you-don’t-vote-for-meeeeee-it’s-because-you-don’t-want-anyone-to-have-healthcare doesn’t see it this way. He thinks he’s fully justified in trying to micromanage Biden’s successful bid for the nomination.
He’s loathsome. And his acolytes aren’t much better.
Frida Amen. Thank you.
Why does the winner need to listen to the loser? Bernie stabs people in the back when he loses and Biden is to smart to play that game.
Bernie did the same to Clinton. Insisted she change the Democratic platform to pander to him, then he refused to drop out even though she beat him by millions of votes. Then he sat at the Democratic Convention as she praised and thanked him, and he scowled and refused to smile and make nice. His supporters booed and disrupted the speakers. Even Sarah Silverman, an irrational Bernie supporter, told them they were “being ridiculous” while they heckled and disrupted the Convention program.
It all feeds his enormous ego, and he’s on track to do the same thing again.
All Democrats want health care for everyone. The only way to get it is to work smartly within the system we have. If Bernie gets the nom, we lose the house, senate, and presidency, and then Trump is unleashed and he’ll put all Democrats in camps, enslave all of our pretty daughters for reeducation and marriage to deserving incels, and America will be dead.
That’s my take on it, and I’m happy about it. Biden will HAVE to push his platform and policies to the left or risk truly and deeply alienating progressives. And progressives are not going away. I’m not a fan of Bernie’s at all but I think Biden needs to be able to move to the left, and he also needs to be able to show that he can debate Bernie competently (Bernie can think circles around him so…. yeah).
Honestly, I read a think piece yesterday that said going with Biden may finally cure Dems of the need for a messianic savior-style president, and the tendency to focus on the presidency as the only important office. I hope that’s true.
Oh dear…
I’m pleased Elizabeth is waiting to endorse a candidate. Why support Bernie after he turned his back on her? At the same time, waiting for the Dem nominee is prudent. The ship sailed Bernie, remain on the boat ’til it sinks.
I don’t seem to have as much hatred as everyone else does toward Sanders. He has remained virtually consistent in his viewpoints over his entire career, which is not something I can say for the other candidates, especially when it comes to Civil rights and LGBQ+ rights. Not all Black people blindly trust Biden because President Obama picked him. I’m black and the other black people in my life are mixed in our adoration. Biden will likely be the nominee, but I worry about him debating Trump. This is probably Bernie’s last chance to run so i don’t blame him for sticking it through to the end until he’s positive he is out.
I guess I really do hate Bernie in some senses of the word. I don’t think an unevolved opinion is a good thing, nor do I think he’s actually been as steadfast as claimed.
Also I don’t think Donald is going to be able to debate. He just doesn’t have the brain anymore – not that the mods would call out his rambles.
Consistent over his whole career equals very poor work ethic. Seriously compare his record to even newer Reps and Senators.. it’s really weak.
I keep hearing people say they’re concerned about Biden debating Trump… and I just don’t understand why. It is true, Biden is not the best in the debates. Warren, Klobuchar and Buttegieg had it all over the other candidates in debates. Biden would just always bring it around to how much black people love him, and Sanders just screamed everything and waved his hands around.
But Trump is a f***ing MORON. He can’t speak about the issues because he doesn’t understand the issues! I mean, in 2016, his debate strategy was shouting “her emails” constantly. He probably already has his name picked out for Joe, something to do with his son and Ukraine. All Joe has to do is keep his cool and point out all the times Trump has f***ed up and screwed people over in the last 4 years.
This and also, how many people are really going to make a voting decision based on what happens in the debates?? Biden could recite the alphabet in a clown costume for the duration of the debate and I will still vote for him.
@ Andapanda
Who says black people adore Biden? That’s not the point. Black people especially older black people are pragmatic because that’s what life thought them to be unlike the typical Bernie supporter who tends to be young and white.
I am totally pro bernies platform as I have the great fortune of studying in Europe where most of his platform was implemented like 50 years ago but if he was smart he would have sat back used his power and influence to back a younger candidate he aligns with, a candidate without all that baggage from 2016 and without the toxic cultish following. At the very least he wouldn’t have picked such a divisive team full of former bloggers and commentators who made it their mission to take down the only black people in the race before they even started running or misogynistic men with a history of trolling Michelle Obama’s looks, or advisors with a history of racism. Why would I trust him to put the right team together for the White House when he can’t even do that for his campaign?
After Bernie’s comment about Castro, I really doubt he has much of a Hispanic, Latino support at this point. Watch Florida – he will tank there.
@amster go to the Guardian and they have the break down of who is voting for him. Bernie has not been able to grow his base. This is proven by the numbers. He has no cross-over appeal. Voters under age 30 are not turning out in significant numbers to vote.
Looks like Washington state may go Biden at this point. Sorry, but California didn’t help HRC win – and if Bernie can’t keep Michigan, he won’t gain traction elsewhere either. He didn’t carry my state of Oklahoma where he had a huge grassroots campaign and btw a large Hispanic population. Let’s look at Texas – larger Hispanic community and again he did not win.
So yeah, Bernie can’t win the DNC and he can’t carry the country to a win over Trump. My crystal eight-ball says Bernie will get thrashed in the next round of primaries.
Putting things as “hate” and “adoration”, does it help?
People are reacting more to the very poor atittude Bernard and his staff have displayed during the last few months, people are getting very tired of demagogues and populists.
Bernard has had decades to built his own platform and has once again resorted to hijack a party he doesn’t belong to and seems to dislike more than the regressive GOP. He can appear to be “consistent” but he’s also very ineffective as a politician. Deeds mattter more than words.
Why is staying consistent on your viewpoints something to praise? Over 30 years, people learn, change, grow, and evolve the way they see things. I would say a person who serves for decades in the Senate and never changes his mind about anything or sees a single issue from anyone else’s point of view is not someone to be admired. They’re a zealot and should be treated as one.
Biden is VERY liberal, and he’s also capable of change and evolution toward better, more workable ideas. He’s a public servant, not a self-aggrandizing narcissist. He wants to SERVE, not to RULE.
Sanders has political leverage right now that he could be using — he could get something from the Biden team in exchange for dropping out and and encouraging his supporters to back Biden. Political leverage is not something he usually has. He has an opportunity here and the fact he is squandering it is telling.
Sa’s comment above makes sense, Sanders may have acknowledged to himself that his presidential campaign is over but is intending to use the debate to increase his political leverage.
I have heard that is exactly what is happening. Sanders asked for a meeting before the debate with a list of topics he wants to push Biden on before he drops out.
But his ego!
Neither of these guys were my choice, but I have settled on Biden mostly because I would like the government to be able to work together and get some things done. I feel like Sanders is “my way or the highway” and we already have that with Trump. While I wish we had someone different, I think Biden will be stabilizing in a way we desperately need.
Agreed.
The Bernie Bros need to leave my state and my Senators alone. Last week, they were threatening to primary Warren in November (the primary for her seat is in /September 2024) with some random dude from the Cape. This week, they re harassing her for not endorsing Markey over Kennedy despite the fact that she actually did endorse Markey back in August and both Markey and Kennedy supported her presidential run. They don’t know what they’re talking about and they need to back off.
It just really pisses me off. I try mightily to ignore the cult but they won’t shut it and act more fkd up every day.
I really *want* to believe that the most vocal and obnoxious of those are bots, but then I meet one in real life and it shatters my self-delusion.
I dislike how Bernie Bro’s (and gals) are Bernie or Bust. The issue is defeating Trump. If they fail to vote or whatever because Bernie doesn’t win the nomination – that is incredibly petty, selfish, and a really, really stupid move.
Why should he? It is not yet over.
To help alleviate my headaches maybe? We’ve got enough to worry about outside of wannabe spoiler bros.
He’s not that far behind Biden and there’s lots of delegates still up for grabs. Go Bernie!
I am still so mad at him for the 2016 election. He could have told his people to back Hilary but he wouldn’t. He is Trump in liberal clothing. A narcissist, self serving, destructive human being. Phew. Ok. Got that off my shoulders. Go Biden!
I don’t believe Sanders is independent in any sense of the word. I think he has his marching orders to stay in the race, even if it’s just his grifter family (though Mueller found evidence Putin supports him also). He has nothing but animosity for the Democratic Party. I blame Tom Perez for letting him run under our banner again. It was a stupid, unforced error.
Regardless of how unhinged some of Bernie supporters are, his stated reason for staying in the race is not stubbornness or denial but to have the chance to debate Biden regarding some of his more conservative positions. If Biden is successful in that debate it has the potential to heal the divide as much as prolong it. So don’t necessarily regard it as a bad thing.
At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if Bernie switched to an independent ticket just to stick it to Biden. Bernie refuses to see the bigger picture, it’s his way or the highway and he’s forgotten that this isn’t about him. This is about saving the republic not about satisfying his ego.
The Russians are all over twitter pushing a Bernie or bust campaign. Thankfully twitter and Facebook don’t have as much of an influence as they did in 2016.
It seems like Bernie is getting ready to run 3rd party to me.
I appreciate Bernie for fighting for civil rights his entire career. I think the fact that a lot of his policies he’s been consistent with haven’t come to fruition speaks more to America’s failures than to his. Who doesn’t want everyone to have healthcare and quality education? I am in the minority, especially where I am from, but I will happily pay more taxes if it means people don’t have to die from lack of healthcare. Or, everyone that wants it can get the education they want if the only reason they can’t is the cost.
I don’t actually have an issue with Biden but I don’t understand the vitriol we are all supposed to have for Sanders. Let the voters speak for themselves and everything will work itself out.
You said pretty much the same thing up at 9. No one is “supposed to” have vitriol for Sanders, a lot of us just *do* and we’ve all outlined why.
Once upon a time, the mere mention of Bernie Sanders didn’t make me want to drink. But after 2016 and 2020 so far, I am completely over his BS. I don’t think he’s nearly as bad as Trump (what a low bar to clear) but I think his supporters and Trump’s supporters have a lot more in common than they might care to admit. I haven’t been able to get behind Sanders since his NYT interview during the 2016 election where he couldn’t give a single specific answer on how he would get anything done. His answer for everything was “a groundswell of support,” which is a vague answer at best. Not to mention that he doesn’t seem willing to talk to/work with anyone who doesn’t already agree with him. That’s not a feasible way to govern.
Also, as someone from Washington State, it doesn’t remotely surprise me that Joe Biden is edging out Bernie Sanders. People should stop thinking of us as a “liberal state.” Eastern Washington is actually pretty conservative. The city of Seattle itself has a lot of very leftwards liberal folks, but it also has plenty of moderate Dems and the second you get out of the greater Seattle/Bellevue area, it gets pretty conservative again. People would also do well to remember that while Bernie Sanders won the caucuses in ’16, when the actual primary vote was held (we used to have both, it was stupid) Hillary Clinton won by about 40K votes.
Biden being the nominee is the best news for Trump. Considering Biden’s record, he’s an easy target that Trump can justifiably accuse of every of his own flaws (cognitive decline, history of lying/embellishing, obvious nepotism, creepy behavior towards women…)
Nopes.
Exactly. I’m scared to pieces.
100++
For all their scathing rebuke of Warren supporters being bitter and putting their anger with Bernie above country, it seems totally lost on a lot of them the irony in not being able to apply that same logic as to why voters went to Biden. Maybe y’all need to consider more honestly why he doesn’t appeal to certain communities instead of dismissing them as stupid.