The Revolution Bernie Wasn't Expecting

[Otto Lidenbrock]

Written by a Pete supporter

March 3rd 2020 will be a day that will be studied by political scientists for a long time to come. How did Joe Biden, only winning one state, South Carolina, merely three days before with no money, no ground game, and no ad presence win Super Tuesday?

Merely a week before this jaw dropping performance, Bernie Sanders wracked up a 2nd place finish in Iowa, 1st place in New Hampshire, and a 1st place finish in the Nevada caucus was on a trajectory that pundits warned could be possibly not stopped. The Bernie alternative lane was clogged with Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer. Elizabeth Warren was positioning herself as the true alternative progressive to Bernie. Mike Bloomberg wasn’t on the ballots but his $250 million ad campaign was in full swing.

Bernie’s Revolution was the only campaign with a movement. Millions of anti capitalist, anti establishment progressives under the mantle of Democratic Socialists marched to the Sanders drum with great consistency. Then Bernie had a message for America.



What was going on in the background?

Pete Buttigieg was in the background working a strong ground game. The night of the Nevada Caucus Pete went to Denver for a rally. 8500 people amassed to hear Pete speak and embrace his message of unity and “turning the page.”

February 17 Pete was in Salt Lake City amassing a crowd of 4500 people.

February 24 Pete was in Arlington Virginia amassing a crowd of approximately 10,000 people.

Why didn’t people know about the crowds Pete was drawing? The media was not covering it.

Pete For America had ground games in Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, and Massachusettes.
Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar was polling very well in her own State of Minnesota where for the first time, Minnesotta was utilizing primary and not the caucus. In 2016, Bernie handily won Minnesota.

Amy’s army was not going to let Minnesota out of Amy’s grasp regardless of Bernie’s past win and Ilhan Omar, Minnesota’s progressive Congressional superstar.

Tom Steyer would pour millions into the state of South Carolina, which he would come in third. His most impressive finish.

Joe Biden lost Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. The punditry was ordering the tombstone for Joe. Even if he were to win South Carolina, his connection to white voters in the first three contests was more than dissapoiting. Joe had another issue, he was broke.

Joe received an endorsement that would prove highly consequential from Jim Clyburn. Jim Clyburn, the stalwart and historic man said, “We know, Joe.”

Joe would go on to win South Carolina. Not just win, but dominate. He would win 61% of the Black vote. The one category Joe did not do well? The youth vote.

Tom Steyer would drop out the night of the election.

The next day was the historic Selma march. All candidates attended, minus Bernie Sanders.

It would appear that this walk had more significance than just a walk. After having breakfast with former President Jimmy Carter that morning Pete had some math to do and some honest reflections to take. What was his path? Pete had an answer.

Pete would head back to South Bend, Indiana to suspend his campaign. His path was not viable. But one thing was clear, he did not want his presence to be a vote splitter. Pete made no qualms that while he respects Bernie, he did not believe Bernie would be good at the top of the ticket.

Pete would go home and give a speech that sounded more Presidential than former contestant. He was going to be endorsing Joe Biden.

Following Pete’s lead of not wanting to splinter the party, Amy would drop out the next day and endorse Joe Biden. Pete and Amy would head down to Texas to live endorse Joe Biden and to the surprise of many, Beto O’Rourke would also endorse Joe on the stage.

What was happening?

Democrats were reminded that the soul of the party was harnessed by the Black vote in South Carolina. A rallying cry went out doing what they do every election. They voted. Let’s be clear, the African American community vote in greater numbers and cherish the right to vote. Jim Clyburn lit the fire, the confligration was only growing.

Team Pete, still heartbroken, jumped on phones. The ground game and digital presence of Team Pete were making calls for Joe Biden and boosting digital presence. The message to all the states? Team Pete for Joe Biden. The army was making calls to promote Joe in all the states they had presence. Those large crowds and ground game would come into play.

Amy’s Army manned the phone banks for Joe in Minnesota proving Amy’s strength in her home state. She made TV and radio ads endorsing Joe that played overnight.

Do you feel it yet?

Super Tuesday
The forgone conslusion by punditry was that Joe would do well in the South, but New England, Texas, and California were going to be Bernie bastions. Who would think the man who spent zero dollars in many of these states and never visited would win Virginia? Massachusetts? Maine?

Then came Texas.

Are you feeling it now?

Texas started out as thought of loss for Biden, Sanders strong hold with the latino community. The conversation was how could Joe keep the Sanders win down to a minimum?

Minnesota is won easily by Joe Biden.

Texas begins to narrow and evenutally Joe takes the lead and wins.

What in the world was going on? How could Joe Biden win all these states?

Sanders would win California and at first appeared it was going to be a big win. Joe? Joe was looking viable but in a distant third. But wait sports fans, as of writing this, Joe is in second place, 9 points behind.

How did this happen? Rigged? No. Though that is a twitter commonality among certain Sanders corners. So, what happened?

A Democratic Revolution.

After a year of being told Bernie was coming after the Democratic establishment, he accomplished the revolution, just not the revolution he was thinking.

After a year of rat emojis. After a year of snake emojis. After a year of non progressives being told they didn’t care about children, healthcare, student debt, or anyone other than themselves came together and said something simple.

You’re wrong.

Bernie and his more vocal and darker parts of his campaign did something. They galvanized the Democratic party to come together. But there is another person that needs to be thanked for the Democratic Revolution: Donald J Trump.

Democrats looked to the rise of Donald J Trump and how he infiltrated the party and changed it forever. Trump would gain his nomination because of the crowded GOP field that refused to consolidate.

Democrats were not going to allow this to happen. They consolidated. They rose up in one voice to say no. They were not going to allow radical politics fueled through anger and an angry base.

Let’s be clear. Democrats are the Democratic establishment. Black voters are the Democratic establishment. Whites are the Democratic establishment. Latinos are the Democratic establishment. Asian Americans are the Democratic establishment. LGBT are the Democratic establishment. Christians, Muslims, Athiests are the Democratic establishment.
The Democratic establishment did come together. In two days they created a wave that overcame Bernies inevitableness to say, we are the establishment. Unlike other movements, there is room for everyone in the Democratic establishment.

Young people, you’re welcome to stand with us. We want the same goals, we just have a different path to get there. Is the Democratic Revolution perfect? It’s not, which means, there is room for everyone. There is no purity test here except your desire for unity and helping America heal from the past four years and yearning to overthrow the most cruel and non-empathetic President in our history.

It’s not the revolution Bernie was thinking, but it was a revolution none the less.

https://medium.com/rossj503/the-revolution-bernie-wasnt-expecting-bbe9305af004

[hlthe2b]

1. Excellent summation.

[relayerbob]

2. Well done

This should be viral everywhere

[Mr.Bill]

3. Excellent article.

Thanks for posting.

[sheshe2]

4. Yes!

All this!

[uponit7771]

5. "historic Selma march. All candidates attended, minus Bernie Sanders." tone deaf

[padah513]

11. I know right?

Then he does an Obama ad after that Tuesday night massacre, even though he alone wanted Obama primaried. Tone-deaf is right

[deurbano]

20. Somehow I missed that Obama ad until last night. What hypocrisy!

What deception!! Pants on fire!! Snake emoji, snake emoji!

[3catwoman3]

6. In a different recent thread, a DUer offered this short...

...statement that I think would make a great bumper sticker/ T-shirt/ button etc -

A Revelation Instead Of A Revolution.

(Thnx to BootinUp from Tuesday, 3/03.)

[calimary]

32. Oooooh, GOOD one!

And BRAVO to BootinUp!

“A Revelation Instead of a Revolution.”

[LakeArenal]

7. I also believe Joe's base including POC is underestimated.

Maybe I was holding my breath. But I believed in Joe and stuck with him since 2018. I bet on the right horse.

[Cha]

41. Aloha!

[emmaverybo]

77. And Joe himself was underestimated. I too believed. Just glad he's running.

[ismnotwasm]

8. Holy WOW

That is good

[unitedwethrive]

9. Exactly!

The movement was just as significantly away from Sanders as it was towards Biden. Bernie is similar to Trump in many ways, and one is that his base is loyal but generally stuck at around 35% in liberal states and much less in more conservative states.

[getagrip_already]

76. luckily.....

I think his toxic base (the ones who will never vote for any dem) is small. The vast majority of his supporters will support the nominee. The others will vote for trump (and would have even if bernie was the nominee), or stay home/vote third party.

The largest portion of his base are pragmatic enough to want trump out. The others can't be convinced and never will be.

[Hekate]

10. I am heartened to read this. I like Amy & Pete a lot, have always done, & this is impressive...

That the author chose a particular recent statement from perpetually-furious Bernie that lumps Democrats and Republicans together is significant. No, Bernie, the two parties are not the same.

[peggysue2]

12. Spot on piece

[William769]

13. YES WE CAN!

[Duppers]

14. Ross Davis, you did a beautiful job!

Yes, this description is perfection.

[RDavisJ1]

44. Thank you very much!

[Duppers]

46. Welcome!

It's an honor to have you here!

[SunSeeker]

15. K & R

[Demsrule86]

16. Excellent post....really enjoyed it. Thanks

[bucolic_frolic]

17. The Biden people were very smart to time their real entry

after the field began to narrow and with a timely endorsement. They knew he was a top-of-the-pack candidate. Plus they read exasperation with Trump factor perfectly. Yes, I really do think they are this good and that it was not happenstance.

[onetexan]

18. That last bit was outstanding!!

"Democrats looked to the rise of Donald J Trump and how he infiltrated the party and changed it forever. Trump would gain his nomination because of the crowded GOP field that refused to consolidate.

Democrats were not going to allow this to happen. They consolidated. They rose up in one voice to say no. They were not going to allow radical politics fueled through anger and an angry base.

Let’s be clear. Democrats are the Democratic establishment. Black voters are the Democratic establishment. Whites are the Democratic establishment. Latinos are the Democratic establishment. Asian Americans are the Democratic establishment. LGBT are the Democratic establishment. Christians, Muslims, Athiests are the Democratic establishment.
The Democratic establishment did come together. In two days they created a wave that overcame Bernies inevitableness to say, we are the establishment. Unlike other movements, there is room for everyone in the Democratic establishment."

Vote Blue up & down the ballot - we can kick the Idiot and his ilk out

[ramen]

63. AMEN nt

[Mersky]

19. Joe & ...

Joe &
Beto &
Amy &
Pete.
And me.
Beat
tRump.

https://store.joebiden.com/joe-beto-amy-pete-and-me-unisex-black-tee/

Is the t-shirt I ordered from Biden’s store. I love it, because we’re stronger when we work together. I have a great deal of respect for the field of Democratic candidates and has been hard to see many of them go. Warren’s exit has me sulking a bit today.

And I’m also going to pipe down my criticisms of Bernie, and be less flip/emotional when I argue back. I want to listen closer to how their concerns can be heard within the bigger tent - they’ve already made a difference for the better.

[txwhitedove]

21. Thank you, yes! Can we please beat tRump with the "establishment" and "same

old same old", and THEN progress? First things first.

[amuse bouche]

22. Sanders is at 13% in Florida because he is stubborn and refused to renounce Castro

He did nothing to sway Black voters, Seniors and college educated women

Bidden will take Mississippi and Georgia too. He will sweep the south
Clearly, Sanders has learned nothing in the last 4 years. It's all so predictable

[subana]

36. it's pretty much over for him in the south

earlier today I heard he was planning to go to Mississippi. Then later they said he was canceling the Mississippi trip & decided to go to Minnesota instead. I guess he figured there's not much point in going to Mississippi.

He really should take a little time to learn something about the voters in a state. His Castro comments did not help him in Florida!

[amuse bouche]

43. He didn't learn a damn thing in the last 4 years. He is stubborn beyond belief

[calimary]

38. And don't forget the insult to injury in 2012

when Bernie decided President Obama needed to be primaried!

OMG! I find that absolutely outrageous, unforgivable, and galling as hell. And I’m a old white woman. I can only imagine how upsetting that must be to the African/American community when some cantankerous know-it-all who should know better threatens to primary the first black president.

BIG mistake. And just what we DID NOT need when our first black president was up for re-election, had already brought us the Affordable Care Act, gotten rid of Osama bin Laden, and saved General Motors while starting to pull America out of the economic disaster that bush/cheney left us with. And we were really supposed to consider primarying him?

Seriously???

My late mother had a favorite phrase that kept going through my mind back then - about somebody who’s “got more nerve than the guy who ate the first oyster.”

[amuse bouche]

42. He cobbled together a fake ad, making it look like, Obama endorses him

Such gall. it pissed me off

[MyOwnPeace]

70. Cali, you ALWAYS.........

come through with a clear, succinct response to whatever the topic is - just LOVE it!!!!

The ACA - General Motors - bin Laden..........

All MAJOR deals done by PRESIDENT OBAMA - and worthy of noting again and again - all done in a time of serious economic distress left to us by another disastrous Repug regime. (Or, as Joe said, "A big F'ing deal!" )

[subana]

71. it WAS outrageous!!

when Bernie decided President Obama needed to be primaried!

I remember hearing about it at the time. It seemed completely ridiculous that he thought he could get away with that!! I almost wish he had done it. He would have failed even more then as he's doing now!!

More & more I understand why Hillary said no one likes him. I don't like him!!

[blue-wave]

23. Spot On!!

Yes, this is exactly what happened. We Democrats have Bernie pushing from one side and Trump from the other, crushing us in a vice-like grip. It was either unite and fight like hell or be destroyed. We chose unity and fighting back because we know in our hearts and souls that we have a party and country very much worth saving.

Onward with our revolution to the convention and the general election!!

[Liberal In Red State]

24. YES YES YES!!! We need to unit. We need Michael Moore et al to get on board now to show

strength. Bernie has been campaigning for 8 years and done nothing to galvanize the multiple segments of the Democratic Party. It’s time for Bernie and camp to support the defeat of dRump. This is more important than his revolution.

[marble falls]

25. Good piece.

[OhZone]

26. Yes we can -

[wnylib]

34. I still have my Obama-Biden campaign

button. Can wear it next to Biden-Harris or Warren button.

[OhZone]

35. Yes we can! ha

[NCProgressive]

27. Thank you Rep. Clyburn, Amy, Pete and Beto

[BigmanPigman]

51. YES!!!!!!!!

Team effort won.

[patphil]

28. Bravo! Well said.

[Moderateguy]

29. Summation: You can only poke a sleeping bear for so long before it rises against you

Amazing article

[gordianot]

30. Epic restoration of the Republic.

[subana]

31. good article, thank you!

I can't believe had those huge audiences all across the country & no one said a word about them!! When Bernie started attracting a lot of people, the media acted like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread! & yet, no one even mentioned Pete's huge crowds!

I love that tweet where he said the rep & dem "establishment can't stop us." They did stop him & it didn't take that long.

When I heard Bernie never asked for Clyburn's endorsement it seemed strange but then I thought it makes sense. Bernie's not a democrat so it's not hard to understand why he wouldn't ask a dem for their endorsement. Luckily, Biden did ask for his endorsement & it was a great one!

The failure to show up for the Selma march was another huge mistake! He should have known that blacks make up a large part of the democratic party, to not even bother to show up is a big, big mistake for a guy who has a problem attracting black voters!

[Sogo]

33. Thank you sooo much for this article....

I'm so using it against the Bernie whiners in my life!

[Hav]

37. Beautifully expressed

This is how Democrats get it done. Not an ego tour by one person who thinks only he has all the solutions. Our best and brightest Democrats seek common ground, listen to and assess the arguments of others and then they work together to achieve what one single person could not.
Biden must have been damn proud that day when he looked around and realized his party is also the home of such brilliant and great persons like Pete, Amy and Beto.

The last part with the message to the young was also important. The goals are very similar but they need to acknowledge that there different paths to get there.

[RDavisJ1]

39. Thank you for the replies!

Thank you very much for the replies and reading my article. If you use twitter, you can follow me @RDavisJ1 . I appreciate all questions and feedback.

[Cha]

40. This is Chilling! Thank you Otto and Ross Davis!

[fleabiscuit]

48. Isn't it!

Cha!!

[Cha]

49. And beyond

Happy!

Hallelujah and Mahalo Lucky Stars!

flea! Backatcha!

[betsuni]

45. K&R

[fleabiscuit]

47. Outstanding. Thank you. nt

[llmart]

50. Terrific writing!

Nice to have a new, fresh voice on DU.

The punditry were tripping all over themselves after Iowa and New Hampshire, slapping the label "front runner" to Bernie's name every time they mentioned him. Then to add insult to injury it was, at least for the first week, the "Democrats are in disarray". Meantime, they couldn't be bothered to report on the huge crowds other Dem candidates were drawing and what they were proposing for the country. The punditry wanted to control the message and the Democrats pulled the rug out from under their narrative after South Carolina proved their prognostications to be something they fabricated out of thin air.

Kudos to the candidates who made the difficult decision to drop out and unify behind Biden. And kudos to all of us Democrats who have from the start adopted the mantle of "Vote Blue No Matter Who."

[RDavisJ1]

56. Thank you for the kind words.

This primary has been an exercise in learning that maybe Trump wasn't too far off talking about dishonest media. After Iowa, you would have thought Bernie ran away with it and Elizabeth Warren was tearing it up. After New Hampshire, it was all about Amy Klobuchar and Bernie. They were already digging the grave of Joe Biden, had the coffin laid out, and the service was set.

This primary showed, at least to me, the media does indeed have an agenda.

[MFM008]

52. I think

after maggots enthused support of Sanders a number of people got nervous.
Possible for good reason, tonight on fox
maggot said he had the campaign all set up at Sanders.
Communism =socialism.
like i said 20 times.........

He said nothing about Biden on this issue.
All hes got is Burisma and Sleepy.....

[FreepFryer]

53. this! (Nt)

[kpete]

54. oh my

quite emotional reading that
thanks

kp

[RDavisJ1]

55. Thank you for reading!

It really means a lot that someone 1. reads my writing 2. is moved by it.

[StevieM]

78. Welcome to DU!!

This was a great article!!

I hope you keep posting with us.

[homegirl]

57. One crucial addition...

Women are the Democratic revolution-and they vote!

[subana]

72. women, I believe, are the group that will decide the election

I was very interested to see the increasing numbers of voters as opposed to 2016 or 2008. Women, especially suburban women, are one group that are anti-trump voters!!

[SunSeeker]

58. Man, that Feb. 21 tweet of Bernie's didn't age well.

[Scurrilous]

65. Can't stop us from liking and retweeting he meant. Because they do that up the wazoo.

Seriously, never do predictions without a qualifier of some sort. But he's been wrong so often he's inured to shame. I saw an article from the 70's when he ran for Senate from Vermont and he guaranteed his party (LUP) would break the 5% of vote barrier they routinely missed. Nope. Moving along everyone.

[Maru Kitteh]

59. WOW. That was simply outstanding!

[question everything]

60. Beautiful! Actually brought tears to my eyes

And I would add: many, who do not choose one of the identities detailed above are, too, the Democratic establishment.

[Frances]

61. Thanks for posting this

I am glad I waited to turn in my absentee ballot in CA
I could not decide between Amy, Pete, and Joe.
Amy and Pete are heroes to me.
I wish both great success in the future. Also Beto.

[Scurrilous]

62. Great article. Thanks.

No one likes Bernie. No one wants his revolution.

[Cha]

64. Cheers, Scurrilous!

to the Dem Party!

[ahoysrcsm]

67. K & R

[Hermit-The-Prog]

68. Excellent. Clyburn lit the fire and many saw the light.

Pete and Amy put country over campaign and ego.

[Upthevibe]

69. This is Steller!

Thank you soooooo much for posting this. And after Bernie's interview with Rachel last night and Rachel's interview with Elizabeth Warren tonight......

[dajoki]

73. Great story n/t

[liberalla]

74. I keep thinking about this post... It's great!

[Cha]

75. Kick!