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Congratulations to our presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden!
Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders didn't win any larger argument [View all]Gothmog
(145,176 posts)74. Why Can't Bernie Accept That Democratic Voters Didn't Want Him?
Link to tweet
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/bernie-sanders-democratic-primary-joe-biden-2020-voters-establishment.html
Even many progressives who accept Bidens nomination as a conscious, non-flukey choice by Democratic voters have insisted on portraying the Sanders agenda as the true winner. Many of them have cited polls showing a majority of Democratic primary voters favoring Medicare for All.
It is certainly true that most Democrats would prefer a single-payer system. I would absolutely prefer a single-payer system, and would happily pay higher taxes to say good-bye forever to employer-sponsored insurance. But Democrats are not unaware that Biden opposed this policy. It was heavily nay, obsessively litigated throughout the campaign. The topic consumed large portions of almost every single debate. If Democrats overwhelmingly chose Biden anyway, perhaps they bought his argument that the political barriers to full single payer are prohibitive, and that building on Obamacare to expand coverage makes more sense.
The Sanders campaign was highly successful in turning the race into an ideological referendum. What Sanders failed to anticipate is that doing so would ensure his defeat. Asked last year if they would rather see the Democratic Party become more liberal or become more moderate, Democrats chose more moderate by a 54-41 percent margin. Slightly more than half of its voters identify as either moderate or conservative, and slightly less than half identify as liberal. And Biden ate heavily into the liberal vote, dominating among those who identified as somewhat liberal.
The Democratic Establishment certainly played an important role in the contest. Its party elite helped coordinate the non-Bernie vote, foiling his plan to capture the nomination without expanding his share much beyond a third. The Sanders movement has remained genuinely indignant that it was unable to win the nomination and steer the party in a direction opposite of the desire of most of its voters by exploiting a divided opposition. But the Sanders plan for minority-faction rule, while it briefly seemed likely to prevail, always required denying the rest of the party a chance to vote up or down on his revolution. He lost for one simple reason: The process gave the voters, right or wrong, what they wanted.
It is certainly true that most Democrats would prefer a single-payer system. I would absolutely prefer a single-payer system, and would happily pay higher taxes to say good-bye forever to employer-sponsored insurance. But Democrats are not unaware that Biden opposed this policy. It was heavily nay, obsessively litigated throughout the campaign. The topic consumed large portions of almost every single debate. If Democrats overwhelmingly chose Biden anyway, perhaps they bought his argument that the political barriers to full single payer are prohibitive, and that building on Obamacare to expand coverage makes more sense.
The Sanders campaign was highly successful in turning the race into an ideological referendum. What Sanders failed to anticipate is that doing so would ensure his defeat. Asked last year if they would rather see the Democratic Party become more liberal or become more moderate, Democrats chose more moderate by a 54-41 percent margin. Slightly more than half of its voters identify as either moderate or conservative, and slightly less than half identify as liberal. And Biden ate heavily into the liberal vote, dominating among those who identified as somewhat liberal.
The Democratic Establishment certainly played an important role in the contest. Its party elite helped coordinate the non-Bernie vote, foiling his plan to capture the nomination without expanding his share much beyond a third. The Sanders movement has remained genuinely indignant that it was unable to win the nomination and steer the party in a direction opposite of the desire of most of its voters by exploiting a divided opposition. But the Sanders plan for minority-faction rule, while it briefly seemed likely to prevail, always required denying the rest of the party a chance to vote up or down on his revolution. He lost for one simple reason: The process gave the voters, right or wrong, what they wanted.
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
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No he didn't! What are these "issues" that Sander won? The majority of Democrats AND....
George II
Mar 2020
#10
The kind that we can pass quickly...millions of people's lives depend on it...can't have some huge
Demsrule86
Mar 2020
#15
We have the infrastructure of the ACA in place, along with REAL Medicare (not some faux "for all")
George II
Mar 2020
#16
Why do you think that he coudn't inspire them to register and get to a polling place on a Tuesday?
ehrnst
Mar 2020
#72
He won by cleaning up with older voters. Bernie and progressives are the future.
DanTex
Mar 2020
#20
If Sander got younger voters, he could have won...they didn't show up Dan...his base
Demsrule86
Mar 2020
#23
If they didn't vote for him, you can't say that he won them. It's really that simple.
Orrex
Mar 2020
#35
Fight for Fifteen started in 2012 and has raised minimum wages around the country.
betsuni
Mar 2020
#50
LOL. Bernie has been driving the fight for $15. It has everything to do with Bernie.
DanTex
Mar 2020
#55
Again, you ignore the exit poll data, which is understandable because it totally contradicts
DanTex
Mar 2020
#57
It would take years to put every person in the country on Medicare...and the cost would be
Demsrule86
Mar 2020
#24
"Sanders's vision for the party has been soundly and consistently rejected..."
NurseJackie
Mar 2020
#68
Every four years the party platform becomes more progressive. That's how time works.
betsuni
Mar 2020
#84
Why did Bernie Sanders drop out? The progressive majority he needed doesn't exist
Gothmog
Apr 2020
#106