Judging from the number of diaries penned by Bernie “supporters” on the rec list lately that say very little about Bernie and a lot about Hillary, I think it’s finally sinking in that Bernie is not attracting the amount of support needed to win the primary.
Oh sure, he’ll win a few states, most probably states nearby Vermont that have similar voter demographics, like New Hampshire or Massachusetts. Polling is showing Bernie holding his own in New Hampshire:
But in states like Iowa and South Carolina, Bernie has not been making any progress beyond a couple of blips in the past few months:
So what could possibly be holding Bernie back from gaining more supporters? Here are a few of my thoughts as well as input from others around the interwebs.
1) Bernie isn’t a Democrat, and only joined the party so he could run for president.
Bernie has often said in the past that he’s not a Democrat, and distanced himself from our party and our president.
I happen to have a lot of respect and affection for Barack Obama. Biggest political mistake that he made is after his brilliant campaign in 2008, he basically said to the millions of people who supported him, thanks for getting me elected, I will take it from here. I will not make that mistake.
In 2012, Bernie even encouraged an anonymous someone to primary our president, although he wasn’t willing to take that step:
Sanders said he still supports the concept of a primary challenge for Obama because, Sanders said, even Republicans have done a better job of keeping their campaign promises than Obama.
"I don't know of anybody in mind, but I am sure there are serious and smart people out there who can do it," Sanders said of the prospect of a primary challenge during C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, airing on the network this weekend.
thehill.com/…
To anyone who worked hard for Obama in 2008 and 2012, the above statement is a slap in the face, because it blames Obama for the obstruction campaign waged by Republicans, and ignores the great steps forward we’ve made since the end of the Bush administration.
2) Bernie’s message isn’t really resonating among Democrats.
Bernie gave a speech about Democratic Socialism in front of a friendly crowd of Georgetown college students the other day. It was supposed to be a ground breaker along the lines of Obama’s speech on racism in 2008, but was met with a big “meh” by the media. Socialism simply isn’t the big scary word it was two or three decades ago, and certainly doesn’t bother Democrats:
A 2011 Pew Research Center survey found that, among voters under the age of thirty, forty-nine per cent had a positive view of socialism.
www.newyorker.com/...
Another problem is that Bernie’s unchanging message of breaking up the big banks and fighting against income inequality isn’t reaching African American or Latino voters.
Two new polls released on Tuesday found Sanders in poor standing in South Carolina, the crucial third-nominating state where, in 2012, the majority of Democratic primary voters were black.
According to Public Policy Polling, Clinton led the state, with 72% of likely Democratic voters saying they would support her. That compared to just 18% who backed Sanders. And among black voters, Clinton garnered 86% support to Sanders' 11%.
3) Bernie supporters are hurting their candidate:
Bernie supporters are lately being compared to the PUMAs of the 2008 election, the bitter dead enders of the Clinton campaign that created conspiracy theories to explain her loss to Barack Obama.
Bernie supporters are creating the same kind of atmosphere by claiming the party elites are aligned against Bernie, or that large media outlets were conspiring against Bernie by a media blackout (despite the fact that thousands of news articles could be found with a google search or the fact that Bernie appears on TV quite frequently).
Sanders supporters are overwhelmingly white males, angry and condescending:
Perhaps it’s a justifiable anger; but frankly, much of America is pretty “sick and tired” of being yelled at and ordered around by angry white men—on either end of the political spectrum. And building a campaign led and championed by flustered, shouting white guys is not good brand management in 2015. For one, it doubles down on this (incorrect) notion of Bernie Sanders as a cooky, red-faced Vermont hippy, glasses askew. But it also highlights a troubling habit of educated, left-minded young men: to condescend when they should be consensus-building, and belittle when they should be listening. These types seem to think they’re the only ones who truly know what’s best for this country. Don’t agree? Well you’re just a big idiot.
So if you’re not “Feeling the Bern”, join the crowd.