Why Bernie Sanders Has Already Won - HuffPo

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http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251994389

Why Bernie Sanders Has Already Won
Christian Chiakulas - HuffPo
Posted: 01/11/2016 10:49 am EST Updated: 16 minutes ago

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We are less than a month away from the Iowa caucus, where the fate of the Democratic Primary will essentially be decided. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has a commanding lead in New Hampshire, which has a primary just over a week after Iowa's caucus, and he is still close enough in Iowa to make the Clinton camp sweat just a bit.

For Sanders to have any real shot at winning the Democratic primary with his national poll numbers so far behind, he will need victories in both states. Even then, there is no telling if the momentum gathered from those victories will be enough to neutralize Clinton's super-delegate advantage, as well as her lead in the polls.

Simply put, and coming from one of the most die-hard Sanders supporters you'll find, Bernie Sanders is probably not going to be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. The Party, led by former chair of Hillary's 2008 campaign Debbie Wasserman Schultz (in a conflict of interest so blatant it's amazing there isn't more outrage about it), anointed Clinton long before Sanders even entered the race. By scheduling their laughably few debates on nights designed to draw the lowest possible ratings, they cut Sanders's exposure and safeguarded their candidate from any possible missteps she might have made (like her bizarre, Family Guy-esque use of 9/11 to defend her ties to Wall Street).

But Bernie Sanders is like Obi-Wan Kenobi: if they strike him down, he shall become more powerful than the Democratic establishment could possibly imagine. The common narrative is that Sanders's support is strong among liberal white men, and weak among minorities and women. While this in general is likely to hold true, among one specific demographic, it falls flat.

I'm talking about millennials. My generation.

Every single god-damn one of us supports Bernie Sanders. Don't take it from me, the straight-white-male: my black friends, my gay and lesbian friends, my Hispanic friends, my female friends, even my formerly-non-political friends. And they will all tell you the same thing about their own friends.

We're all feeling the Bern.

 

DisgustipatedinCA (10,451 posts)
3. The author of the piece doesn't think Sanders will win the nomination.

 

demwing (15,443 posts)
4. "He will need victories in both states" - No, he won't.

The only people that benefit from this mindset are the Clinton followers who want to set a high bar for Sanders, and a low bar for Clinton.

The statement "Bernie has already won" while true, sounds like this author is preparing for Bernie to lose.

• Neck and Neck in IA.
• Ahead in NH.
• Within the single digits in the latest National Poll.
• Draws HUGE crowds - especially in contrast to Clinton
• Net Positives in all polls - contrasted sharply against Clinton's net Negatives in all polls.

And this is the time to sing a "Bernie will probably not win" song?

No, I don't think so....

 

SheilaT (20,125 posts)
10. This guy is completely wrong about the national numbers.

Latest polls show Bernie doing much better in the general election, especially against Trump, than Hillary.

The nomination will NOT be decided by Iowa. Nor by NH a week later. Nor by the addition of Nevada and then South Carolina. At that point the race for the nomination will truly be on, and both Hillary and Bernie will be fighting very hard for every vote, every delegate. Not sure what, if anything, O'Malley will be doing by March. Maybe if he gets enough delegates in those first four, and it looks like he'll continue to get delegates, to perhaps be a spoiler or a king-maker, then he might stay in long enough to throw his support to one of the others, and then be rewarded with a cabinet position in the new administration. But that feels rather unlikely.

We will probably be looking at as long a slog to the nomination as in 2008.

[Patriot Guard Rider]

I want to know what drugs those people are on so I can invest in the companies producing said product. Those sales will go through the freakin roof when she who must be coronated, is coronated and bernbots to abso f*ckin lutely nuts.

[BannedFromDU]

I want to know what drugs those people are on so I can invest in the companies producing said product. Those sales will go through the freakin roof when she who must be coronated, is coronated and bernbots to abso f*ckin lutely nuts.

     My heavens. There are actually DUmmies who think Sanders has a prayer of being the nominee.

     That is precious.

     DUmmies, do you understand that Hillary will destroy him? I don't mean she will win decisively. I mean that he will be Clintoned: allowed to slink away quietly, or be put to death. He's already been warned...why do you think he keeps his usually-flapping jaws shut about the debates and her criminal behavior?

     Silly, silly DUmmies. 

[Carl]

Every single god-damn one of us supports Bernie Sanders. Don't take it from me, the straight-white-male: my black friends, my gay and lesbian friends, my Hispanic friends, my female friends, even my formerly-non-political friends. And they will all tell you the same thing about their own friends.