6 Political Scientists: would Sanders have a shot in the GE? Or: how bad could it get? - VOX.com

[Bill USA]

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/5/10923304/bernie-sanders-general-election

How much, exactly, would Democrats be hurt by nominating Sanders?

{Seth Masket, a political science professor at the University of Denver said he thought Sanders would 'cost' the Democrats 2 to 3 percentage points in a General Election versus a more conventional candidate_B_USA}

"I'd say it'd have to be considerably higher than 2 to 3 points. I'm thinking the loss would be in the vicinity of 6 to 10 points," Miroff said.

Republicans would find it easy to tie Sanders to the "socialist" label, Miroff said, adding that only 25 percent of the public trusts the government to carry out policies effectively.

&quot Sanders) really has made radical, socialistic statements in the past about the redistribution of wealth and the expropriation of the oil industry," Miroff said. "The full force of a Republican attack would find Sanders to be a convenient target."

~~
~~

Why those head-to-head general election polls are "absolutely worthless"

~~
~~

Sanders himself has recently embraced this argument, telling ABC News that he was the most electable candidate in part because of a poll showing him beating Donald Trump in a general election.

But it's regarded as blindingly obvious among political scientists that these findings are essentially illusory, and that general election polls this far out are about as predictive now as a weather forecast for Election Day.

"The impressions people have of the eventual nominees months from now will be so different from today," said McKee, the Texas Tech professor. "That's a nice thing to point to, but what does a head-to-head poll mean in early February? ... It's worthless. It's absolutely worthless."

[CrowCityDem]

1. Tax increases for everyone = losing strategy

[doc03]

3. Who else said I will raise your taxes President Mondale or President Humprey?

[Hoppy]

6. If my tax bill goes up by $500 and my insurance premium decreases by $1,000, why, I'm a happy guy.

On the other hand, when Hillary starts are next war, lays the golden spike for the oil pipeline and signs TTP, not so happy.

[vkkv]

2. Bill you are correct::: Trolls are the dog-piles in the lawn of life. When you find

one, it's best just to scrape the malodorous mass off your shoe and move on. You are not likely to establish a meaningful dialogue with a turd.

I'm scraping this off as fast as I can Bill...

[Bill USA]

4. If you don't like the message, don't blame the messenger. Sometimes Reality bites.

Sticking your head down a hole won't make unpleasant realities go away.

.. you'll have to convey your sentiment to the author of the article I referenced in the OP and the six political scientists he interviewed. I just passed along what was reported.

Here is another article you'll no doubt find displeasing. Nonetheless, as I said before, sticking your head down a hole won't make unpleasant realities go away.

[font size="+1"]
What a GOP campaign against Bernie Sanders might look like: "When did you stop being a Communist?"

[/font]Most attacks on Sanders so far are relatively mild

~~
~~
[font size="+1"]
When Sanders supporters discuss these attacks, though, they do so in tones of barely contained outrage, as though it is simply disgusting what they have to put up with.[/font] Questioning the practical achievability of single-payer health care. Impugning the broad electoral appeal of socialism. Is nothing sacred?
[font size="+1"]
But c'mon. This stuff is patty-cakes compared with the brutalization he would face at the hands of the Right in a general election.[/font]
~~
~~

They're going to ask when he stopped being a communist, and when he objects that he was never a communist they're going to ask why he's so defensive about his communist past, why he's so eager to avoid the questions that have been raised, the questions that people are talking about.
(more)

[concreteblue]

7. They are already using these attacks.

And yet Bernie's numbers just keep going up, while Hillary's just keep going down. Add in the fanatical hatred of all things Clinton, not to mention same of women in general, and you get record R turnout. D's lose with Clinton in the GE. Write it down.

[world wide wally]

5. I don't think you need to be a political "scientist" to figure this out

Just be honest and open minded