Whether it makes sense or not.

Partly to discourage us, and partly to enrage and keep their people voting to support tRump.

You're absolutely right. No matter who it is, they will be prepared to slaughter.

But we also have to recognize that some candidates are more vulnerable to attempts at 'GOP destruction' than others.

This is a "safe" candidate election. Generally, US Presidential elections favor outsiders (George H W. Bush being the exception) since 1976. But not this time.

IMHO, folks want normalcy, except for the deplorables of about 30 percent who want Trump. Almost everyone of my reasonable R friends would happily vote for a Joe Biden over Trump. That's my principal reason for liking Uncle Joe: he's a known quantity and he's been smeared for 40 years.

The only remaining smear is Hunter Biden, and Joe just needs to attack that forcefully for the nonsense that it is.

but normalcy depends on who you ask. Folks who made off with a Trump tax cut want that particular normalcy. Preexisting-condtion folk want the normalcy of the post-ACA era. Some want the normalcy of women not having control of their bodies.

I support the normalcy of industrialized democracy, health care, public education, and civil rights. I suspect most Democrats do.

Not in 2020. We need a consensus candidate, and a number of decent Republicans would never vote for Bernie.

Again, nothing against Bernie, but normalcy is a middle of the road safe candidate who will defeat Trump. I agree our bar is low, but that's how I see it.

Why exactly would Trump, the Rs, the Russians, and the right-wing media support Senator Sanders. There is absolutely no other reason than because they know Trump would beat him.

If Bernie is our nominee, I will support him to the hilt. But he won't win, which is why the "dark side" supports him.

No snark here, I just anecdotally see them setting him on fire, and not in a good way.

I haven't bumped into it.

that metric doesn't hold a lot of water for me, if that is what we are looking at. That site is pretty rugged.

But repukes have lots of megaphones. They tarnished a fucking purple heart recipient for christ's sake! That is why making a decision based on what they are going to say is a fool's errand.

will understand that, alas. Sigh.

People I know well enough know I'm on DU and so they will ask me questions. I once explained exactly who our representative and senators are to an older lady I know *sigh* so she asked me during the last election who I'd recommend voting for. I told her that I make it simple, I generally just vote a straight Democratic ticket. And she was thrilled with my answer since she told me that she's a registered Democrat!

be enough to convince anyone that this forewarning is legit.

Trying to innoculate yourself against what Repukes will say is pointless

Giant head smack.

trump and the gop will manufacture alleged crimes or improper actions he can use in his propaganda campaign no matter who it is.