2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: If you think Bernie can win the general election [View all]Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)Trump winning. I wouldn't be wasting my time and money supporting him If I didn't think he could win. But, it will not be easy and those of us who do support Sen. Sanders need to be prepared. I suspect Hillary would run into a firestorm as well if she is the nominee.
I'm also old enough to remember Barry Goldwater's massive landslide defeat to LBJ in 1964. I was in fourth grade at the time. Anyway, I digress. That was seen as absolute proof by most pundits at the time that the far fright could never-ever win at the national level. Yet, they came back sixteen years later and won and kept winning. If they can do it. So can we. But we need to be prepared for the worst. Because, it will be thrown at us.
The fact that they have been calling even center-right Democrats extreme leftist and socialist - people who supported and signed legislation to the right of Ronald Reagan. This might take the sting out of someone who actually is somewhat leftwing and calls themselves a socialist. The right may have inadvertently taken the sting out of the word socialist by using it even in the most preposterous of situations.