2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: The Good Fight [View all]BeyondGeography
(39,369 posts)Last edited Tue Feb 16, 2016, 09:09 AM - Edit history (1)
In a primary some things are off limits because you want your opponent's supporters to vote for you at the end of the day. Plus whatever disagreements you have are usually questions of degree rather than profound philosophical disagreements, which is another limiting factor. That said, it's still early and the Clinton campaign probably will throw the kitchen sink at Bernie if his momentum continues to build.
On edit, Skinner says it well here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1246527
There's a productive side to attacks. Obama was well-served by his trials in the 2008 primary, which took potentially devastating issues like Rev. Wright off the table (not only that, they gave him the chance to shine, as in the Philadelphia speech). By the time the GE came around he and his ideas were pretty much fully vetted. Bernie hasn't faced a fraction of that yet and if he does it will only mean he has a chance to win and he will be a better GE candidate for it, as was Obama.