Ocasio-Cortez suggests a Bloomberg presidency would pave the way for 'a worse Trump'

thehill ^ | 02/25/2020 | ZACK BUDRYK

[a little elbow grease]

Why on Earth would you hope for that?

And don’t assume a third party Bernie candidate would only take votes from the Democrat - it’s not that simple.

A third party candidate will siphon off Independents, many of whom would otherwise be voting for Trump. Independents identify as Independents for a reason; they don’t like to be forced to choose between Democrat and Republican. For that reason, they LOVE voting for third party candidates - it is a way of thumbing their noses at the two party system - it makes them feel...well, independent.

In a two way race, President Trump does well with Independents, but a three way race could easily change that - enough to make the difference in the all-important swing states.

___________________

I never thought about it (third party candidates and Independents) like that.

Thanks for your words.

[enumerated]

Whether third party or Democrat party, Bernie Sanders scares me.

Despite their huge policy differences, he and President Trump have something in common. They are both disrupters who seek to tear down a corrupt political establishment and its unhealthy alliance with huge corporate lobbies.

Sanders has all the wrong solutions - but he is not wrong about the problems: big pharm and big oil lobbies bribe government regulatory agencies and the legislature in order to protect themselves from competition, prop up prices and rake in obscene profits. President Trump has the right solution - deregulate, open up competition. Bernie’s solution - nationalizing industry - is exactly wrong.

But I worry that there are a ton of voters who are very angry, and are passionate about electing someone who will disrupt the corrupt status quo - but are these voters discerning enough to know that socialism is not the answer? I worry that a lot of these people voted for Trump in 2016, not because he was a conservative, but because he was a disrupter running against the epitome of a corrupt establishment type, Hillary Clinton.

We do not know how these people will vote when presented with a different choice.

I’d feel much better if the Democrats nominated an establishment type, and forced Sanders to take a back seat again, as in 2016.

[a little elbow grease]

"But I worry that there are a ton of voters who are very angry, and are passionate about electing someone who will disrupt the corrupt status quo - but are these voters discerning enough to know that socialism is not the answer? I worry that a lot of these people voted for Trump in 2016, not because he was a conservative, but because he was a disrupter running against the epitome of a corrupt establishment type, Hillary Clinton."

"We do not know how these people will vote when presented with a different choice." ---------- It IS a very frightening unknown.

"I’d feel much better if the Democrats nominated an establishment type, and forced Sanders to take a back seat again, as in 2016." ---------- Maybe you are correct. But if Bernie is nominated and fails to beat Trump, his candidacy could help us down-ballot, and win us the House more easily than other Dem. candidates.

Does that seem possible?

[enumerated]

“But if Bernie is nominated and fails to beat Trump, his candidacy could help us down-ballot, and win us the House more easily than other Dem. candidates.”

I am not sure I agree. I have always thought that what causes “coattails” is voters’ not “splitting the ticket” - voting straight R or D - which presumably happens when they put more weight on party affiliation and less on the particular candidate.

Using that logic, the best way for President Trump to help Republicans down ticket would be by convincing voters to vote for him because he is a Republican, and not a Democrat. He will want to push the Republican brand, and campaign on the idea that “Republicanism” is the reason for his success.

Therefore, the more he can associate his opponent with “the failed Democrat party”, the better. I would think that would be a lot easier to do with an establishment Democrat like Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren, than it would be with Bernie Sanders or Bloomberg - who aren’t even real Democrats.

If Sanders were the nominee, President Trump would not be able to run against the Democrat party as a whole, because Sanders isn’t even a Democrat and is himself critical of the Democrat party. President Trump would have to campaign against Sanders’ radical socialist agenda - and that campaign strategy wouldn’t necessarily impact other Democrats on the ticket.

I could easily imagine voters deciding to vote against Sanders because he is socialist, but yet be OK with voting for down-ticket Democrats, who they do not consider to be socialists.