Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Why is Bernie so popular? [View all]BlueWI
(1,736 posts)The Democratic majority was substantial, but not filibuster proof. All the more reason to have regarded that majority as a historic occurrence and be ready to create a higher volume of proposals. Republicans do this far better than Democrats - ask Scott Walker.
The question was why is Sanders popular, a different question than who would be most effective at building legislative coalitions. Making direct appeals for public support, however, helps create interest in structural change, and that's one of the things that Sanders gets right.
Grievance politics, purity, etc...these terms are simply reductive and represent the partisan views of Sanders among some Democrats. They're interpretations, not facts.
All of the polling data showing a more diverse coalition in support of Sanders is also being ignored in your post. Obviously, there are choices other than Sanders in the primary - I'm not even supporting him myself in the primaries. But the things he is successful at doing - creating a political brand that motivates a big core of voters, elevating the issue of income inequality, fundraising independently, taking younger voters seriously, appealing to disenfranchised people - are ignored too frequently. That is unfortunate, because we'd understand more about the electorate by studying why his particular approach to these issues has appealed to many in the Democratic base.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided