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The Quinnipiac University National Poll, conducted on November 23–30, 2015 throughout the nation, which compiled the responses are reported for 1,453 registered voters with a margin of sampling error of +/- 2.6 percentage points — found that both of the major Democratic Candidates are Electable, when pitted against the walking-talking cartoon characters from the GOP side.
Here a side-by-side “break out” of those side-by-side Match-ups, Poll Questions 5-12 (edited for brevity and comparability.)
COLLEGE DEG
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No
Clinton 46% 8% 89% 41% 39% 53% 54% 42%
Carson 43 84 7 42 49 37 39 45
Sanders 47% 11% 84% 47% 41% 53% 52% 45%
Carson 41 81 6 40 48 35 41 42
Clinton 47% 7% 91% 45% 39% 56% 55% 44%
Trump 41 82 7 37 49 33 34 45
Sanders 49% 11% 86% 52% 43% 55% 56% 46%
Trump 41 80 8 36 47 35 36 43
Clinton 45% 7% 87% 40% 36% 53% 51% 41%
Rubio 44 89 8 41 51 37 43 45
Sanders 44% 7% 81% 45% 39% 49% 48% 43%
Rubio 43 85 8 39 50 35 44 42
Clinton 47% 8% 90% 43% 39% 55% 55% 43%
Cruz 42 87 5 39 50 34 38 44
Sanders 49% 9% 87% 51% 43% 54% 54% 46%
Cruz 39 83 4 34 48 31 38 40
Notice that in all cases, the “winning” Candidate was the Democrat — if even just barely.
Notice too, that in all cases but the Rubio Match-up, Sanders does better than Clinton against the same opponent. So these scientific snapshots show that BOTH Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are Electable. Thank-goodness for the out-crazy-fest on the other side! That changes, and these Match-ups will no doubt change, and sampling snapshots will have to be re-taken.
Imagine if Trump decides to put on his big-boy suit, and start acting like a rationale, sane, CEO adult. If that happens — Look Out! The Stars will re-align for a rationale, sane CEO-Celebrity running for President. A Responsible-Trump would garner Rubio numbers then, I suspect, if not much better.
One last thing to notice about those consolidated snapshots, is the “break outs” of the “break outs” … in particular, the very strong pull that Bernie Sanders has on Independent Voters, (that column has also been annotated to show the “most electable” Candidate with Independents, in bold.)
With Independents, hands down, Bernie’s their choice. And with Independents making up well over a third of the Electorate — the promoters of “Democratic interests” would be well advised not to discount their significant impact. One could argue that Independents ultimately “decide” every election. Best not to treat their concerns lightly — or say Hello to the next tick of their “pendulum notion” of fairness. (ie. “Time to give the other guys a try again.” Tick-Toc.)
This next writer attributes the Bernie-effect with Independents, to his high Favorability ratings, among his other “Electable” characteristics:
Thanks in large part to those voters — namely, independents who identify themselves as neither Democrats, Republicans or members of any party — Sanders also holds sizable national leads in the Quinnipac poll over three of the four of the top Republican candidates. [...]
“More Independents think Sanders shares their values compared to Clinton by 47-33%; more Independents think Sanders authentically ‘cares about the needs and problems of people like’ them, compared to Clinton, by 59-40%; and vastly (38%) more Independents, 64% to 26% — and even a further corroborating margin of Republicans, 39% to 7% — think Sanders ‘is honest and trustworthy,’ compared to Clinton,” Hager wrote.
— How Bernie Sanders Wins 2016 Election: Independent Voters put Vermont Senator in the White House by Jonathan Vankin, inquisitr.com -- 12-18-2015
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Bernie scored the highest in Net-Favorability among ALL the Candidates Left and Right (also asked in that same Quinnipiac Poll). Most of the other Candidates were “Underwater” in this all-important “Likeability” quotient (ie, they had Net-Negative scores). Scads of people won’t drag themselves out of the house, stand in line for an hour or more, just to vote for a Candidate they don’t like. It matters.
13. Is your opinion of Hillary Clinton favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her?
COLLEGE DEG
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No
Favorable 44% 9% 85% 38% 36% 52% 50% 41%
Unfavorable 51 89 11 56 59 43 46 54
Hvn't hrd enough 3 2 3 5 4 3 2 4
REFUSED 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2
16. Is your opinion of Bernie Sanders favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him?
COLLEGE DEG
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Yes No
Favorable 44% 15% 68% 47% 41% 46% 49% 41%
Unfavorable 31 58 7 29 36 26 31 31
Hvn't hrd enough 24 27 24 24 22 26 18 27
REFUSED 1 - 1 - - 1 1 1
The challenge for Bernie Sanders and his supporters, is to turn that 24% “Hvn’t hrd enough” statistic into a “tell me more” statistic, about this guy who authentically ‘cares about the needs and problems of people like me’.
Do that, and it’s a done deal. Bernie’s heart and compassion — and common sense — speak for themselves. THAT is why this dedicated Senator from VT is as well liked as he already is — despite the relative low national visibility, he been given up til now … (when compared to Trump for example.)
This article looks at polling data from the point of view of an Independent plurality which favors Bernie Sanders by 36% over Clinton, making him in turn a likely winner against any Republican, while leaving Clinton only a toss-up chance in November. It is risky for a party that shares only 30% of the electorate to ignore the decisive role that Independents play in choosing Presidents. The Democratic Party's own shrinking base gives it features of a third party in need of coalition with the larger "party" of Independents that Bernie Sanders brings to the table. [...]
To win in 2016, Democratic primary voters need to vote strategically, based upon reliable information, in favor of the alliance with Independents that Sanders offers them. This alliance would join voters across the line now separating those who accept systemic political corruption as a lesser evil than electing a Republican, on one side, and a growing majority that does not, on the other. [...]
— Who's Spoiling Now? Polling Indicates That Democrats Underrate Sanders' Electability at Their Peril by Rob Hager -- Public interest lawyer, huffingtonpost.com — 12-23-2015
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Because afterall isn’t Electablity in the the eye of the beholder, and in the votes of ALL the Voters (including -Ind.) who bother to show up, and stand in line, to cast their single votes: Nay or Yay.
Voting For someone, beats voting Against someone, every time. Hands down.
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We NEED a wave election — that will sweep out the House and Senate, and restore them to basic functionality. What we don’t need, is more of the same, that we have now.
Been there, done that. Guess what, dis-functional Gridlock doesn’t work for the vast majorities, red, blue, and purple. This we know, if recent history has taught us anything, about the effectiveness of divided cynical government, run by Lobbyists representing Corporations.