which purports to show that most of the US is red. In reality, most of the red portion of the map is lightly populated.

.....have very few people, and last I looked acreage doesn't vote.

They don't trust establishment Dems or Repugs.

But it allows Trump voters to think that they are the majority.

He believes the propaganda.

They are a Majority alright , a majority of a**holes.

But think about the subtle power of memes such as "the moral majority", or "the silent majority".

First, they directly state that a certain group is, in fact, a majority, and moral. And that this group is also a silent group that people overlook.

Three Million

Canada has more land mass, and 10% of the US population.

Republicans are most of the snakes......

To actual snakes.

in many blue states. They are correct but he isn't the face to push them anymore.

Perfectly described.

Let's see: Lanae Erickson: SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR THE SOCIAL POLICY & POLITICS PROGRAM

Matt Bennett: Senior Vice President for Public Affairs at Third Way

So . . . I would expect nothing less than the piece they wrote as their opinion.

I'm just not sure why this is a surprise coming from ThirdWay.org.

But whatever floats your boat. Although it would be more accurate to leave out USA Today and change the headline of the post to say . . . An opinion by two member of ThirdWay.org rather than implying it's some kind of actual "investigative" piece that has facts of some sort.

Republicans to cut Social Security.

The fact is that social security will be cut for all Americans if we do nothing.
Republicans like Trump want to cut it for the disabled and poor who need it.
To equate that with means-testing and making the system truly progressive in order to improve its long-term solvency is misleading at best.

The right is dying to cut SS and Medicare, but they know it's unpopular, so they pretend that their cuts are not cuts. It's right-wing framing to propose chained CPI, raising the retirement age, means testing, and all the other ways that Republicans want to cut Social Security. Nobody, I mean nobody, things those are "progressive" solutions.

Pretending that those things are not cuts to Social Security is *precisely* what the right-wing does. They argue that the only way to "save" Social Security is to cut it.

The progressive solution, as Bernie proposes, is to lift the cap on the payroll tax. It raises more money from the wealthy, and doesn't cut anyone's benefits.

I mean, why do you think Biden backed off his previous positions on things like Chained CPI? Because he doesn't want to run on cutting Social Security, and he, as well as everyone else, knows that chained CPI is in fact a Social Security cut.

The one does not deny the other.

What a concept.

I think it will show most Democrats agree with this article. Last night I saw a few short snips from Fox News puppets like Tucker Carlson heaping praise on Bernie and billing him as the most sensible and sincere candidate. That's all you need to know. They want to run against Bernie because they know what a bloodbath it would be for us in November. I don't think we'll make that mistake.

That is really scary.

Another educationed opinion from 538

Sanders will win votes from 16 states and territories, Biden wins 41

Will he chose a VP that is a Democrat or a part of a third party?

These are a couple of really important questions I have if Sanders is ever asking me to support him. I do not think it is unfair that we expect an answer from Sanders. He has a history. He has not clarified.

remember he too can't stand being upstaged.

lever for Sanders.

Nothing special about Sanders on that front. Heck, didn't Biden recently suggest a GOP VP candidate wasn't out of the question were he to be the nominee?

but he also said there weren't any Repubs he could think of to have as his running mate.

Funny how people seem to leave that part out.

people that voted Stein.

Not one Democratic candidate has only run as a Democrat and immediately stepped out of the party when he wins.

Not one Democratic candidate voted for nor hired Stein and third party in 2016 and have them running his campaign at this moment.

So, yes. Sanders is unique in this regard.

And ask them. They have been pretty consistent. Warren is the only one that does not have as long of a history with the Democratic Party but all her hard work the last three decades I think has proven her out. Warren has put in her time for the Democratic Party.

even though I am NOT excited by the alternatives

wants Dems to cut Social Security. I mean, the first author's twitter handle is "ThirdWayMattB", and he doesn't mean that ironically.

But I do enjoy watching the "third way" squirm.

the GE?

No one is talking about this....

I like totally believe that.

I have to laugh my ass off.

Bernie performs very well in the Rural Red parts of Vermont ...That is a fact , not mere conjecture ...Economic Populism works a helluva lot better in Red State America than the stale, corporate neoliberal ideology that we've tried over and over again ….. People will not be turned off by the prospect of Universal Healthcare ...They know they are being screwed over by the Private Health Industry.. They have to pay the bills... People are working harder than ever , yet half of the Country does not have 500 dollars in the bank .......They know they are being forced to pay double what the rest of the world pays to purchase life saving medications.... They know that 3 families in America have more net worth than the bottom 150 million people combined ….They know that they, or one or more of their children, are trapped in perpetual financial penury by debt incurred by going to college …….... .Populism is such a political winner that a fake populist like Donald Trump , an Orange Realty TV host , got elected President of the United States … Can you imagine what would happen if the Democrats nominated the Real Deal ? ….

Speaking of horse manure.

So the implication is that Democrats should nominate someone who red states will like. The arguments about this either way have been going on since the big bang and I will not reiterate them. However, the position of these authors should be more direct so that we can actually have a real debate about it rather than stoking fear with dark hints.

Don't you figure that that was the whole point?

I doubt they wanted anything like a real debate.

I was kind of trying to avoid saying it directly but perhaps I shouldn't.

Sanders has no coattails in Arizona , Georgia etc.

The one they called “McPaper.”

They’re probably right.

Democrats included, who think like those evil third way types who regularly get trashed here.

And we're trying to get voters, right?

This may say it all:

The gop will run ads 24/7 saying " commie", "socialist"....

i'd like to see 24/7 ads from democrats saying the gop are genocidal fascist. but alas...

......

Wall Street money barons will pull out all the stops to block Bernie. We can't let them get away with that. And nothing against Joe Biden. Obviously I will enthusiastically support him if he gets the nomination.

We need their votes to beat Trump.

This is a center left country.

The faction of the left that sprang from socialist movements of the 1930s and the New Left movement of the 1960s (the ideological ancestors of today's "progressive" movement" ) had its political trials with the campaigns for President of Henry Wallace in 1948, George McGovern in '72, and Ralph Nader in '00 and they all failed utterly, gaining the votes of only a handful of people. What is repudiated at the polls by the overwhelming preponderance of Democratic voters cannot be a call for "something new." It really is that simple.

win, he represents the past and Americans will reject it in favor of change whether it be Bernie/Warren or Trump.

Most polls I see do not agree

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Sanders +3.0... Biden +4.3

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_biden-6247.html



Some of us care enough about the data to actually look at it. Maybe you would want to do that, too before you share it...

Warren is beating Trump: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_warren-6251.html

Mayor Pete is beating Trump: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_buttigieg-6872.html

Amy Klobuchar is beating Trump: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_klobuchar-6803.html

You are trying to dismiss that I pointed out that your poll showed MOST DEM CANDIDATES are beating Trump, and Biden is doing better than Bernie.

So, your poll doesn't really contradict the OP either - in fact, the poll supports it, if you actually look at the polls you conveniently left out.

Reread my post, and you'll get it.

But there is one other thing - Biden is doing better than Bernie in that poll against Trump, despite the GOP supporting Bernie's candidacy, while using the very White House to try to smear Biden.

Even Russia was supporting Sanders, as the Mueller report showed. Karl Rove's dark money superPAC bought $millions in ads to support Bernie in Nevada, and in fact. it took credit for his performance there.

His primary candidacy has only ever been nurtured by the GOP, unlike HRC or Biden.

So Bernie has never, ever been in the crosshairs of the GOP, and that would change everything in GE where Bernie was the nominee.

No poll can accurately take that into account.

According to the poll that YOU referenced...

Trump and Sanders have never gone head to head in a GE. And it's clear the GOP wants him as a candidate in the GE.

for Trump and then compare what kind of enthusiasm Biden generates.

Trump generates involvement and enthusiasm like a cult leader. He was in my state last night and I was amazed that people went to the arena the night before and camped out. A news reporter was asked to do that and she logged in regular entries which told of all the horrible conditions they had to endure (see The Ledger if you're interested).

Then I saw video clips right here at DU and there was actually one woman crying as Trump talked about making America rich again. You know these morons will turn out in droves for him if he makes it to the election (I have my doubts that his health will hold out).

You know, you can argue middle of the road type policies all you want but if your supporters don't care enough to show up at the voting booth, it doesn't make a difference. Biden will lose against Trump. Bernie has the enthusiasm factor. If you don't believe me go do a google image search under "Biden crowds." Then do one under "Bernie Sanders crowds." The impact of those photos will show you there is a huge, dramatic difference.

Here's a story from Iowa entitled "Every Candidate Is Drawing Huge Crowds in Iowa Except Biden."

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/01/28/msnbcs_katie_tur_every_candidate_is_drawing_huge_crowds_in_iowa_except_bide.html

snip

That's what we saw last week at his events, a couple of hundred people, over the weekend, Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg all got over a thousand people at rallies, Biden got a couple hundred. What does that mean for his support going forward, will he be able to pull it out if someone like Sanders gets both Iowa and New Hampshire, what does it mean for South Carolina?

One more thing before I go, Donald Trump will be here Thursday and big picture, looking toward November, as these candidates get a couple hundred or a thousand, he will fly in, get 5,000, 10,000 people in Des Moines. What does that say about the Democrats' chances in November when Donald Trump is drawing crowds that big and the Democrats are not? That's something to look for as we go forward.

snip

Promote Biden at your own peril. He will lose and lose big.

speech he gave in the Senate 25 years ago and he's not that man these days.

Bernie promised me a pony damn-it, I want my pony!!!! Plus M4A, plus free college, plus a green economy, on and on and on...

Is uh, Bernie ever going to concede that his plan is all rainbows and unicorns. Only time will tell.

2000,2004,2010 and 2014, and 2016, we would not be where we are now... Warren and Sanders are losing in Delaware and Virginia...nominating a progressive is a bad idea this year we must win. Now I like Warren and she is my second choice, but Biden has a better chance to win the general and has coattails for the Senate and the House.

I would get thrown off the forum, so I guess you'll just have to go back and look at the history, if you can find the real story.

Many of the points are fallacious and easily arguable but the tone of the article itself sounds as though it was written by ivy league graduates who somehow never managed to get emotionally beyond the 6th grade.

Third Way is paid to stop public interest legislation by their contributors but I think they'll need to find a different tactic to be effective. Everyone sees they're relying too heavily on their own sense of authority here and it's not working.

What specific facts were wrong. HRC did win more votes and states than Bernie. His candidate in Michigan did lose. He did get crushed in the sun belt states. Polling has shown Americans don’t want M4A. Seems more like sour grapes at what an abject failure he would be as a nominee to me.

Link to tweet

Trump and Sanders have never gone head to head in a GE. And it's clear the GOP wants him as a candidate in the GE.

It is garbage.

Who that might be, I dunno. I back them 100%.

Running pro Bernie stuff.

Republicans have not even started with their massive attack campaign against our candidate and we know it will be brutal and heavily funded.

Not taking sides in any way, but I would like to see more unified discussions about who's the most bullet-proof against those attacks.

In addition, whoever it is will need to fall behind a unified platform with high populist appeal.......

Our No. 1 objective must be simple: Beat Trump.

If Sanders had been the nominee in 2016 he would have beaten Trump.

I do not want Kevin McCarthy to be speaker of the House

Link to tweet

Justice Dems, Our Revolution etc did not flip a single seat. Zip. Nada. Zero. And that's the direction some want us to go.