Some very hinky stuff happened during the primary season for the Democrats. A lot of people argue that Bernie Sanders was robbed, and there is plenty of evidence that he indeed was. Hillary had been anointed as “next,” and it’s unlikely that Bernie was going to be permitted to take her place.
But let’s face reality. Hillary was probably the Democrats’ best hope in 2016 between the two.
While Sanders did well with disaffected college kids who don’t have an inkling of what the real world is like, the average American voter wasn’t likely to support an avowed socialist in the general election.
However, that hasn’t stopped Vox from arguing that Sanders is the front-runner for 2020:
Amid a swirl of speculation about Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, and practically everyone else under the sun as potential Democratic presidential contenders, most of the political class is ignoring the elephant in the room. Bernie Sanders is, by some measures the most popular politician in America, by far Democrats’ most in-demand public speaker, and the most prolific grassroots fundraiser in American history.
If he were 10 or 20 years younger, his absence from a 2020 cattle call held by the Center for American Progress back in May would have been glaring. As things stood, the whisper among everyone in the halls was simply that he’s too old and obviously won’t run.
But make no mistake: Sanders is the real 2020 Democratic frontrunner.
He’s doing exactly what a candidate who fell short needs to do to run a second time. He’s established a national political organization, he’s improved his ties with colleagues on Capitol Hill, he’s maintained a heavy presence in national media, and he’s traveling the country talking about issues.
In subtle ways he’s shifted his policy commitments to the center, making himself a more broadly acceptable figure in the party. At the same time, he’s held on to a couple of signature issues — Medicare-for-all and tuition-free public college — that give him exactly the kind of clear-cut and broadly accessible agenda that mainstream Democrats lack.
In addition, Sanders is adhering to the new tradition of Democratic nominees being geriatric millionaires who amassed substantial wealth while in public service — I’ll leave it to you to figure out how — who are the subject of FBI investigations.
It’s hilarious that Vox thinks single-payer healthcare and free public college are winning positions.
A single-payer system is currently blocking parents from taking their baby out of the country for treatment, and demanding he be taken off life support and not allowed to die at home. Government is literally sentencing an infant to immediate death. That’s more than enough to make Bernie unpalatable to most Americans.
Free public college tuition is one of those things that sounds good to idiots. Sanders still hasn’t answered just who is going to pay for it, and how. The money always has to come from somewhere, and Sanders’ spendthrift delusions won’t change that reality.
If the Democrats want to ensure a second Trump term, then go ahead. Run Sanders.
Assuming, of course, Bernie is not in prison by then.
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