The Punditocracy Pushes Bernie Out

Townhall.com ^ | March 13, 2020 | Tim Graham,

[Kaslin]

The election prognosticators at the FiveThirtyEight website estimate that former Vice President Joe Biden is ahead in the Democratic delegate race by about 150 votes -- 935 to 785 for Sen. Bernie Sanders. Doesn't that suggest a close race and a long road ahead? They say no.

Bernie is now behind 15% to 20% in the national polls, and "Sanders tends to lose more ground every time a new set of states votes." Democrats, who treat the prospect of President Donald Trump's reelection as a "moral 9/11," much like his first election, want to avoid any long-running Biden-bashing feud. If the Gaffe Machine is going to win, they will rally around him. All the empty chatter about a contested convention is turning out to be ridiculous once again.

The morning after the latest primaries, on "CBS This Morning," Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign manager, Robby Mook, suggested there's no need to pressure Sanders to get out. "There's some time," he said. Terry Sullivan, who ran Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 campaign, cracked: "When Robby says, 'Oh, there's time. There's no need to force him out,' that means he's a zombie candidate. It's over for him functionally."

A big part of all of this pressure to knock candidates out of the race comes from the press. If the pack of pundits guesses you have no chance to get the nomination, it proclaims you a "zombie." In the current design, the media elites still have more power than the voters to decide who wins. In many states, voters don't get to cast a ballot for their favorite candidate because the press has already pushed the candidate off the track.

Growing up in Wisconsin, we cheeseheads of all stripes resented having a traditional primary in April. States with later primaries were denied the up-close drama of candidates coming through their towns and asking for their votes. Even if the candidates were from the Other Party, the drama was exciting.

The last few presidential election cycles have seemed a bit absurd. Regardless of party, 12 or 24 "contenders" get in the race for all the press attention and unwieldy debate, and an indecent fraction drops out before the first primary or caucus. Most of the remainder is gone after the first one or two primary states. It's easy to suspect that many of these candidates threw their hat in the ring to increase their speaking fees or build their name ID and gravitas with the pundit class.

In this cycle, even here-and-gone Democrats like Reps. Eric Swalwell and Seth Moulton were awarded the mandatory CNN town hall television time. CNN would rather drop dead than give Republican candidates (or Republican voters) that kind of exposure. Then again, CNN town halls reliably limped in far behind the other cable-news shows.

Even winning early can mean nothing within days. In 2012, Republican Rick Santorum won the Iowa caucuses so narrowly that he was a "zombie" before they actually decided he was the winner. A similar thing happened to former Mayor Pete Buttigieg this time around -- a "winner" one day and pushed off the stage soon after.

There's no reason to mourn a Bernie Sanders failure. It's a very encouraging sign for conservatives that enough Americans are still suspicious of those going for utopian socialist power grabs with their dishonest shtick of flashing the word "free."

But for people who claim to defend "democracy" from dying, journalists have no reservations about rushing past the voters to quickly anoint a winner. The game is declared over before halftime. Now there are no "smoke-filled rooms" where elites pick a nominee. Today the winnowing of candidates happens live on your TV screen.

[PGalt]

It was good into the far turn..quite a horserace... feeble on the outside, feeble minded on the inside. They both come from the same barn...1 and 1A (not talking amendments here). Hey groom...clean all that horsecrap out of their stalls.

[Bratch]

Mini-Tuesday Takeaways: The DNC Club Has Bernie Surrounded – Now Comes The Terms For Exit…

Posted on March 11, 2020 by sundance

Bernie Sanders came into mini-Tuesday hoping for Michigan and Washington State to help him stay within closing distance of DNC favorite Joe Biden.  However, Bernie was crushed in Mississippi, Missouri and Michigan by the machine – not by Joe Biden.

Bernie was left with a possible 50/50 split in Washington State where over 125,000 voters mailed-in ballots for Elizabeth Warren (mailed prior to withdrawal), not accidental, all by Club design.  The Club is in control now, full control; and Biden is the malleable vessel the administrative state hopes to utilize to take control of all government function.

Bernie lost the heavily union influenced state of Michigan by over 200,000 votes (53/37); many of those union votes were against losing their Cadillac healthcare plans.  A stunning defeat for Senator Sanders in a state he narrowly carried in 2016. The losses in Mississippi (81 to 15) and Missouri (60 to 35) were by even wider proportions.

Michigan was a big loss because…. To make matters worse, Bernie Sanders now sees the Club has out maneuvered his last remaining hope.  Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Arizona all vote on March 17th.

Florida (219 delegates) is a lost cause.  ‘Fidel’ Sanders will likely see a similar outcome he received in Mississippi, no delegates.  Illinois (155 delegates), like Michigan, is under the full control of the Club – no viable hope.  Bernie’s road-map included Ohio (136 delegates), but the Club knee-capped him on that possibility; intentionally and smartly, by cancelling all indoor rallies under the auspices of Coronavirus.  That only leaves Arizona (67 delegates); but by then it’s likely too late, and the best possibility is another 50/50 split.

So Bernie Sanders campaign is done.

Hence, he never spoke last night as he absorbs exactly how best to play out his remaining political currency.

The only leverage Bernie Sanders carries now is the March 15th CNN debate in Arizona.

The DNC wants this contest over, & The Club does not want to see Joe Biden’s diminished mental acuity exposed.  This is the only remaining leverage for Bernie Sanders.

Again, The DNC Club is smart and they think ahead of the contingencies.  That’s why the CNN March 15th debate was modified in advance.  Current rules: no Arizona debate audience allowed; no media presence permitted; both candidates seated behind desks.  No stress to exhibit Biden’s diminished capacities.

Bernie could suspend or concede prior to the debate; or Bernie could concede during the debate; it matters not.  Bernie will concede.  The question is: will there be a debate?

Given the heavily controlled DNC/CNN format for the debate, the most likely scenario is:

• Bernie concedes openly or privately this week and then The Club use the “debate” as a 90 minute infomercial to promote the Club’s interests.  Under this scenario Bernie and Joe will have a friendly fireside chat about policy to help heal the divisions.
• It would be a 90 minute nationally televised PR opportunity for Bernie to exit while supporting The Club candidate.  The goal: to bring Bernie supporters into the Club.

There may not be a debate; however, the Club would likely not want to lose such an opportunity for a nationally televised healing event, and their media allies will push the unity narrative hard into the psyche of the young and impressionable Bernie supporters.

Following the script; and in a similar party alignment that we saw exhibited on Super Tuesday…. On March 17th Florida, Arizona, Ohio and Illinois will all vote for Joe Biden.  Georgia follows suit on March 24th, and it’s all downhill from there.

Bernie’s last remaining input will be to assist the Club with a few progressive elements for the convention platform, and a soft-landing for AOC+3 to avoid electoral backlash. Biden will not have any input into the Democrat platform for 2020, all of the handlers will take control now.

Jill Biden will continue her primary role as caregiver, breathing sighs of relief each time Joe talks and doesn’t go bananas.  Jill will be assisted by Symone Sanders and a small circle of well compensated close confidants who will keep Biden’s diminished mental state hidden from view.  The proletariat media will be complicit in this endeavor.

One consistent approach by The DNC Club is that once they have defeated their internal enemies; as long as that enemy pays homage to the Club, admits and recognizes the power and control; and humble themselves before the Club leadership’s magnanimity; the Club will find a way for their internal opposition to keep face publicly.

There is no path for Bernie beyond negotiating narrow terms for exit.

Bernie fought the establishment, and the establishment won.

The Club is powerful; and The DNC has defeated him.

It’s over.

.

 

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Republicans need to frame this as “Americans rejecting the failed ideology of socialism once again.”

Socialism needs to be seen by the public as destructive, cruel and evil. It does not work, yet socialists are willing to harm and even kill any number of people over and over again trying to force it to work.

In short, it must be vilified as were the Nazis, so the public will not believe any “new” version of the same monster. A label such as “neo-socialist” must be just as damning as “neo-Nazi”.

[BubbaBasher]

The dems brought this whole thing on themselves by letting an “Independent” run in their primaries. They had every right to exclude him because he is not a member of their party.