2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders would have beaten Trump. Period. [View all]TDale313
(7,820 posts)I supported him in the Primaries, because I felt he'd be our strongest General Election candidate. Polling bore this out. I supported Hillary in the General even though I am in a solidly blue state because a)she was by far the better option and b)I wanted to send the message that Trump was completely unacceptable. But many of us were concerned about her chances in the General. Cenk put it well. The electorate wanted to put a brick through the establishments window. They preferred Bernie's brick, but if Trump's was the only option they'd take his. Polling showing Bernie up over Trump by double digits on Election Day bear this out.
Here's part of why I think Bernie could have won the General- where Hillary lost this? Independents in the rust belt. I can give you two states Bernie could easily have won and did better than Hillary in primaries. Wisconsin and Michigan. Assuming he adds those states and holds what she did win? We have President Sanders- the most progressive President in most of our lifetimes. Instead we have President Trump.
This, to me, is one of the biggest tragedies of this election. The heartbreaking lost opportunity.