First of all, don't bite my head off! This is not an Ozzy Osborne concert, and I ain't no bat! And before you start grabbing pitchforks and lighting torches, let me explain something. I love Bernie Sanders. I've loved him for years, long before he decided to run for President and give Hillary Clinton heartburn. He's been one of my favorite interviews. CNN, MSNBC, a Sunday morning talking headfest, if Bernie was there, I was in front of the boob toob. A lifelong fighter for the little guy, the have nots, and intelligent enough to have the facts and numbers to support his positions, and completely unwilling to back down from his position at the first sign of resistance. And best of all, a real life mensch. A man of honor and integrity, who has never run a negative ad in his life. He prefers to state his position, his views, his strengths, and leave it at that.
Personally, I hope that Bernie stays in this thing until the last primary, and here's why. The longer Bernie stays in the race, the further to the left he pulls Hillary, forcing her into concessions and positions that she may not normally have taken if this were a true "coronation". That only benefits the progressive left. Also, thanks to the apparent unspoken agreement that neither Bernie nor Hillary will throw mudballs at each other, the debates and campaign ads will be actual "issues" debates and ads, giving people actual information.
Follow me below the Orange Julius for the reasons to my decision.
#1) Hillary will win: Yes, we all know that this is the operating plan. And yes, I am ignoring that one outlier poll that shows Bush beating her 42-41%. It is well within the statistical margins of error, and is far outside the results of any other poll. And no, I am not ignoring the multiple polls that show Bernie mashing up on most of the GOP candidates head to head, but in general, Bernies winning percentage number is smaller, and in some cases beneath the margin of error. Hillary's name recognition, and ground organization, especially if given access to the Obama organization and database is formidable. And one would expect, that being in position to be the first woman President she would bring with her an enthusiastic base of women voters.
#2) The Coattail Effect: I have chosen to take a "long view" of this election. We have the opportunity to lay a serious hurtin' on the Republicans in 2016. Not just with a Presidential blowout. The Republican Senatorial map in 2016 is a mirror image, if not worse, than the 2014 Democratic Senatorial map. They have many more seats to defend, and they're not doing themselves any favors. In traditionally "blue" states like IL and WI, they have a couple of numb nuts freshman Senators who seem to be doing everything they possibly can to make themselves unelectable this time around. And congresswoman Cathy Rogers in WA is not doing herself any favors either. Continuing to bray like a sheep for the repeal of Obamacare, in spite of the overwhelming response to her Facebook page of constituents who praised the law, and it's positive impact on their lives. One went so far so to tell her, "It seems like you may not be listening Congresswoman, but we are, and we'll remember this next November". Not exactly a ringing endorsement of her position.
But the "coattail effect" weighs most strongly on my mind. Just like her predecessor, Barack Obama, she is running in 2016 for a place in the history books, the first female President in the history of the United States. Her candidacy will unleash a wave of Democratic women voters, who may not have come out otherwise. And as Democratic voters, if they vote for Hillary, they're very likely to vote Democratic down the ticket. Not only does that "Coattail effect" likely swing the Senate back to blue, and could knock some serious holes in the Republican majority in the house, in vulnerable house districts, it could even flow far enough downstream to turn some statehouses and state legislatures back to blue and stem the tide of right wing ideological bullshit we've seen over the last four years.
And just for dessert, inside knowledge. Hillary lived inside the White House for eight long years, she had access to the west wing and the oval office like few others. Having seen exactly how the organization running the west wing needs to look, she would already have most of that plotted out and in place by Inauguration Day.
Personally, I find both Bernie and Hillary to be eminently qualified for the job. My biggest mitigating factor is if both are electable, who can help us farthest down ticket. For me, that answer is Hillary.
1:07 PM PT: I just wanted to take a moment to thank every single Kossack who has posted a comment to this diary...When I hit the "publish" button, I knew this diary would generate a response...As a matter of fact, I fully expected to get WWE full body slammed more than once...The conversation has been lively, with many opposing points of view, but it has also been classy, polite and respectful...This is exactly WHY I joined the KOS, our respectful differences, and our willingness to see other points of view and debate respectfully only make us stronger...