Although Senator Bernie Sanders wasn’t my first choice as the Democratic nominee for president, I was ready and willing to vote for him in the general election. I do like his sentiments for a comprehensive universal health care plan and his willingness to make higher education affordable for all. But as regular readers know, I have had qualms with his messaging from time to time. Still I respected his willingness to put himself out there and his achievements in shaking the place up a bit.
But as his campaign lost momentum and other players in the race dropped out and endorsed his major opponent, he seems to have changed his tune a bit although not his demeanor. And as this NY Times article says…he is: “… the Democratic Party’s foremost practitioner of grievance politics.” Now it seems he’s looking for people to throw under the next available bus and some of his charisma is peeling…
To Senator Bernie Sanders, there is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to his recent reversal of fortune. For everyone but him and his campaign.
The “corporate media” didn’t pay attention to his agenda.
The Democratic Party establishment aligned to block him from winning its presidential nomination.
And the young voters he counted on to power his campaign didn’t come through for him.
“Let me tell you the bad news, to be honest with you, young people vote at much lower rates than older people,” the Vermont senator told a St. Louis crowd of mostly young people Monday morning.
So we are seeing a major move to “Not my fault” mode.
Now…as to the corporate media…it seems to this observer that the corporate media gave Sen. Sanders an incredible amount of column inches, web pages, and broadcast time, day in and day out. I saw him everywhere I looked. If they were not covering his positions to his liking, he needed to tune his message better and push his staff to get his message out there. He was getting the coverage. The media love him…he gives them as many readers as the president does. They will be sorry if he drops out and doesn’t become the nominee.
And the Democratic Party establishment is still the enemy? He didn’t know this? Why did he run as a Democrat? The Democratic Party pays attention and gave him major concessions in how the votes at the convention will be handled based on the issues he raised in 2016. And he knew how it was going to be…and he frittered away the last for years when he could have been laying the groundwork IN the party to welcome his candidacy. I don’t think he did much of that. He likes being the outsider…but he doesn’t like being treated as the outsider.
And yes, young voters don’t vote as often or in the numbers that older voters do. That’s been documented historically. If you are going to rely on them you are a fool. Again he had four years to bring his message to those voters who actually vote…and apparently didn’t.
I am sorry he hasn’t done better…but I think he has Bernie Sanders to blame. Not the DNC. Not the media. Not young people. Not Joe Biden. Just Bernie Sanders.
P.S. Joe Biden isn’t my first choice either…but I may have to accept him as the default.
I was wrong. I thought that the race would be between Bernie and Bloomberg. Bernie because of his organization and his 2016 performance. Bloomberg because of his money. I forgot that money can’t by you love. I, like Senator Sanders, did not believe that the DNC would plot for their favorite. I was wrong. I’d like to congratulate the DNC on their selection of an old white guy with upstanding moral character and fine cognitive ability.
Short memories speaking upstairs, the DNC changed the rules to allow Bloomberg into the game ($800K pieces of silver?) for the quick exit stage right(-wing oligarch) orchestrated by a very austute one-woman band. So I agree don’t blame the DNC /s.
Yes, media attention was focused on Bernie, but with what intent? Certainly not promotion of his candidacy or ideas.
Closer to home there have been calls for Sanders to leave the race right now, before April 7, so please consider those consequences. Numerous No-Way-Biden voters stay home and Karofsky goes down in flames along with any down ticket progressive county or municipal candidates, and sorely needed public school spending referendums.
Final note, no matter who becomes POTUS in Nov, Moscow Mitch needs to lose five or six Senators to be finally relegated to the much deserved dust-bin of political history.
I am in no hurry to see Sen. Sanders leave the race. He should stay in as long as there is the possibility for him to accumulate a majority of delegates. We aren’t there yet.
The biggest issue is getting rid of Sen. McConnell whether the Dems take the Senate or not.
Thanks Ed,
There has always been a concerted effort by the DNC and MSDNC (et al), to trash Bernie. Bernie has not always been his own best friend and too often is his own worst enemy. But there go you and I.
I agree he should stay to keep pushing the narrative back to the middle ground, as nothing he espouses is radical or extremist, but simply more inclusive of all of we the people.
Thanks for your good work here.
Not a short memory, just a better understanding. The DNC has but one rule: The Golden Rule. He who has the gold makes the rules. Any other dictum are just words on paper that can be changed at anytime.
You really don’t think that the DNC had anything to do with the coincidental dropping out of candidates just before election that then endorsed Biden? Granted, Biden’s people may have had a hand in that by promising them something later on (cabinet position for Pete, no-show job at Burisma for Amy’s kid), but I can’t help think that the DNC played a role.
I put the period in the wrong spot and apologies for how that made the “sarcasm,” tag following that particular sentence in my first comment on this thread, perhaps a bit confusing. Correction here:
So I agree don’t blame the DNC. /s