
Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: It's over Bernie! Voters rejected you. [View all]The Magistrate
(96,043 posts)Last edited Tue Mar 31, 2020, 11:31 PM - Edit history (1)
Is immaterial to whether they are sensible, or in accord with the political needs of the moment. So, for that matter, is academic excellence, even in a health-related field. Sanders divides an effort that cannot afford to be split. Continued support for him, even by people who may agree with his stated goals, aggravates that split, and does so to a greater degree the longer it keeps him in countenance to continue.
It is a grim hope but a real one that the terrible mismanagement by the cheap thug Trump in this crisis will move the country to a sound rejection of him, but the degree to which he has successfully appealed to the basest impulses of his base supporters presents a danger to our prospects of evicting the wretch from office. It is an elementary axiom of strategy that effort must be concentrated on the decisive point, and not dispersed among several points. Again, this is not something you should need explanation of, but evidently you do. If Mr. Biden and the Democratic Party must continue to contend against both Sanders and the cheap thug Trump at the same time, they must violate this basic principle, and the effectiveness of the chief effort, against the cheap thug Trump, will necessarily be reduced below the best level that could be achieved.
This forced reduction in concentration of effort, to the detriment of efforts against the cheap thug, is employed by Sanders in an attempt to blackmail the Democratic Party, into making concessions to him. Concessions he has not the votes to warrant. That the concessions are largely meaningless does not lessen the damage giving in to Sanders will produce. Knuckling under to Sanders' blackmail will give onlookers the impression Mr. Biden and our Party are weak, and the last thing a candidate for high office can afford is to leave an impression of weakness. People value strength and rally to it, this is a basic truth of politics in a democracy. Meaningful concessions to Sanders would have an even worse effect, because a good portion of the voters we must count on are repelled by Sanders and do not want him or his proposals to be those of our Party. These far outnumber the comparatively small numbers, as a portion of the national electorate, which giving in to Sanders might gather in. Might is used advisedly, because there is no certainty Sanders has either the capability, or the desire to bring his followers into the fold. He has often said he is not, and never has been a liberal Democrat, and has for years taken the 'Democratic Establishment' as his chief enemy.
This seems sufficient to meet the needs of our exchange, and I have other things to attend to. If you think my address to you constitutes insult, rest assured were insult my intention, what you read would considerably harsher. The claim of being insulted when an accurate description is proffered of one's political position, and its self-evident consequences, and of the objective worth and likely roots of personal needs that are pressed as justification of that position, is an old trick here. It does not carry much weight.
"Americans love a winner! And hate a loser!"
"From Bernies perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they dont want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."
"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
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