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Feeling the Bern
Townhall.com ^ | February 11, 2016 | Derek Hunter

Posted on 02/11/2016 6:57:28 AM PST by Kaslin

Well, that was interesting.

The New Hampshire primary is over and the results were…sort of what was expected. Beyond the headlines, however…

On the Democratic side, and according the Gloria Steinem and Madeleine Albright, there are a lot of young women chasing boys straight to Hell. Hillary Clinton not only lost the youth vote by an amazing margin, she lost young women by so much it has to be a shock to a candidate who considers her gender among the top reasons to support her candidacy.

She lost every demographic except people making more than $200,000 and older than 65. But amazingly, Hillary is doing the worst with people for whom the scandals of her husband's administration are faded memories from their childhood or passing topics in their history classes. To say she has a likability problem is like saying the Titanic had a glut of ice cubes for drinks. The people who know the least of her history dislike her the most.

Hillary threw everything at New Hampshire in an attempt to keep her loss, which was a foregone conclusion, to single digits. Had she lost by nine or less - or even 10 - she would've claimed a moral victory for keeping the margins down against Bernie Sanders that close to his home state. But she was destroyed, beaten by more than 20 points in a race she led by 40 points three months ago.

To put that in perspective, in 2008, in a field of five, Hillary Clinton received 39 percent of the vote. In 2016, in a field of her and an old socialist, she got 38 percent. That's not just spinning her wheels; that's backsliding.

Interestingly, after essentially a tie in Iowa and a rout in New Hampshire for Sanders, Hillary is destroying Bernie in the delegate count. Thanks to "superdelegates," party officials who are free to support whichever candidate promises them the most (and who can promise more than a Clinton?), Hillary has 394 nominating delegates to 42 for Sanders.

Somehow, Sanders, who dominated New Hampshire and likely won the popular vote in Iowa - the state party, led by a Clinton loyalist, refuses to release the numbers - is losing the race for the nomination and badly.

To keep Democratic Party voters from realizing just how undemocratic their nominating process is, team Clinton is pinning its hopes on South Carolina to serve as a firewall against Sanders. More specifically, the campaign and the Democratic Party machine are counting on the black vote to reject Sanders and fall for the Clinton name.

If the black vote can be turned out to vote against a man who was directly involved in the civil rights movement, having been arrested in 1962 while protesting housing discrimination at the University of Chicago (before it was fashionable for suburban white people to be involved with the civil rights movement), she will win. But if Sanders can make inroads with the black vote, even keep it close, the Democrats will have a fight on their hands for which they are completely unprepared.

How can Hillary perform so awfully when everyone in control of the levers of power set the stage for her to succeed? The party limited the number of debates for her and scheduled them at times few would watch. Now we know why.

It turns out even progressive Democrats don't like having their decisions on electoral issues made for them. DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz tried to limit Clinton's exposure to tough questions but in the process created momentum for her opponents.

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley was thought to have been Hillary's biggest concern from the left, but he showed all the charm of a department store mannequin. That sent people who wanted to at least explore their options to find Sanders.

The party underestimated just how radical its base had become. After decades of fostering discontent with American society as a weapon against Republicans, the monster the party created has turned against it.

The Democratic Party power structure is just as radical, of course, but did not want that on display. Now it has no choice.

Hillary has to not only attack Bernie Sanders, she has to do so in a way that convinces a large swath of his supporters she will champion the same radical causes and simultaneously position herself toward the center for a prospective general election run. It's a nearly unimaginable quandary for someone who just a few months ago appeared to have to deliver only a tap-in putt for victory.

The biggest problem facing Hillary Clinton is still not Bernie Sanders. Sanders is in an unexpected and enviable position, but the deck is almost hopelessly stacked against him.

Her biggest problem - and Bernie's biggest asset - is herself. Even if she manages to change the paradigm to her favor again and win the nomination, she'll still have that problem.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: berniesanders; election2016
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To: Kaslin

Bernie Sanders will be the Democrat nominee.

The MSM will do everything in their power to get him elected.

Our Country is full of superficial voters that will buy into their message.

Just consider how Obama got elected?

God help us all.


41 posted on 02/11/2016 9:11:27 AM PST by Zeneta (Thoughts in time and out of season.)
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To: Iron Munro

Well well well.

Bernie getting a mind and will of his own. That’s got to consternate his masters.


42 posted on 02/11/2016 9:20:51 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Zeneta

Donald will say things about Bernie’s plan that will have the MSM breathlessly reporting it, expecting the public to be shocked at Donald and discovering that the public, instead, is shocked at Bernie.


43 posted on 02/11/2016 9:22:04 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Zeneta

Yeah by the Drive-by media and the idiot voters who also voted to reelect him


44 posted on 02/11/2016 9:25:09 AM PST by Kaslin (He needed the ignorant to reelect him. He got them and now we have to pay the consequences)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

It won’t matter.

Sanders is actually the candidate that the MSM wants.

The media knows that their audience are a bunch of useful idiots and will follow their narrative.


45 posted on 02/11/2016 9:36:08 AM PST by Zeneta (Thoughts in time and out of season.)
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To: GOPJ

I am dreaming of Chicago 1968.


46 posted on 02/11/2016 10:25:11 AM PST by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dream)
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To: Jimmy Valentine

If Bernie wins the vote - but Hillary takes it with superdelegates it’ll be 1968...


47 posted on 02/11/2016 7:20:58 PM PST by GOPJ (Allowing illegals to stay is like paying ransom to terrorists - incentivized insanity.)
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To: GOPJ

“We can change the World,rearrange The World, it’s dying to get better”- Crosby,Stills & Nash


48 posted on 02/12/2016 2:17:07 AM PST by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dream)
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To: Jimmy Valentine

Though your brother’s bound and gagged
And they’ve chained him to a chair
Won’t you please come to Chicago
Just to sing?

In a land that’s known as freedom
How can such a thing be fair?
Won’t you please come to Chicago
For the help that we can bring?

We can change the world
Rearrange the world
It’s dying to get better

Politicians, sit yourselves down
There’s nothing for you here
Won’t you please come to Chicago


49 posted on 02/12/2016 10:04:53 AM PST by GOPJ (Allowing illegals to stay is like paying ransom to terrorists - incentivized insanity.)
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