Let's get real: if bernie was REALLY no longer a threat to clinton,

[restorefreedom]

there would not be a zillion calls for bernie to step aside. he is delivering a powerful progressive message and getting people (especially young people ) involved. if there was ABSOLUTELY NO MATHEMATICAL WAY FOR HIM TO WIN the clinton campaign could smile and let him go through his paces as long as he wanted to, with the confidence that she had it.

except that they are all over the place today claiming its a done deal and sanders needs to step down for "unity." that tells me that, just as in march, they are desperate to get him out before the western states put him close again. we know that oregon and cal combined have the potential this time to be kingmaker on the last day of voting.

and THAT is why they want him out now.

[Csainvestor]

1. they know he would have won NY if independent voters were allowed to vote

that is the real issue here.

Bernie has made HUGE strides with longstanding democrats.

Look at a map of NY Bernie won more than 90% of all NY counties.

[Godhumor]

6. He lost congressional districts 21-6

People vote, not trees. CDs reflect population density.

And your math is terrible. He didn't win 90% of counties. There are only 62 counties total--Hillary won me than 6.

[restorefreedom]

7. yes, ny would have been a landslide with indys

looking at the upcoming states

ct: date for party affiliation change was jan. ...not great but not as bad as oct in ny
pa: deadline was in MARCH and a local paper reported record numbers of people changing party! this bodes well for bernie
de: feb 26....not great, but much better than ny.,,this could work out well for bernie
ri: unaffiliated can vote IN EITHER PRIMARY ....good news for bernie

[apnu]

45. Why are Independents late to the party?

All this talk about closed primaries and registration dates. Why now are independents trying to join up and cram in the door? Bernie's been running since last year.

[restorefreedom]

46. because new yorks draconian deadline

to change party was early oct, and dws carefully resisted all calls for debate until LATER oct. they had this all planned out

[SpareribSP]

72. Bernie is pulling in new people

And he only started getting serious coverage this year.

[apnu]

79. Yes that is apparent, and disapointing.

To spend so little time and energy on the politics that affects their daily lives. It breaks my heart.

[smiley]

102. You obviously haven't introduced yourself to Bernie Sanders yet.

[MisterP]

107. the party's been shoving them out for not gargling when the pols piss in their mouths

a pol who's different for once takes some getting used to

[CentralCoaster]

2. In it to win it, we won't be intimidated into surrenduring our constitutional right to this process.

It's shameful, the games being played in the name of "solidarity".

Solidarity with THIS candidate, the one being investigated?

Not gonna happen.

[Skink]

3. She's not going to get enough pledged delegates

[BreakfastClub]

5. She has many more pledged delegates than Bernie and the popular vote. Good luck

getting super-delegates to go against her. HINT: They won't.

[Skink]

11. We'll never know the popular vote total

[Samantha]

100. You don't know that -- they might just find Sanders can beat Trump when Hillary cannot

and decide they want the Presidency more than anything else.

Sam

[Jackie Wilson Said]

4. Stopping his campaign and stepping aside are two different things.

For our sake the hope is that if this is the end, Bernie knows the best way to maximize his amazing, groundbreaking, unfuckinglybelievable success this past 8 months.


We desperately need higher taxes on the rich, corporate taxes to be paid, education to be tuition free, and healthcare to be universal as well as Social Security being sound and safe.

To that end we need this revolution to continue.

[SwampG8r]

73. +1 jackie

[Firebrand Gary]

8. You're wrong.

She increased her delegate lead by 31 and now has 2.7 million more votes than he does, come the 26th those numbers are going to increase. As for the west, or as it keeps getting referred to as west of the Mississippi, I've got one word.. Arizona.

This is about the general election, it's time to do what's right for the party and thankfully Senator Sander's agree's.

http://news.wabe.org/post/sanders-step-back-after-big-clinton-win

[DemocracyDirect]

105. Good to see that someone here knows the future.

Let's wait and see.

[Adrahil]

9. He can't win. But he can hurt her.

Now it's about his character.

Is he determined to keep drawing blood, despite not having a shot?

Or will he consider the good of the country?

[eomer]

15. He certainly can win. He needs 58.5% of remaining pledged delegates.

That's not impossible. Difficult, yes, but not impossible.

[Adrahil]

18. Seriously, do REALLY think that will happen?

Or even CAN happen realistically? I mean he's behind by over 10 in PA, and WAY behind in MD. Also behind in CT. After next Tuesday, things will be even worse. He is currently behind in CA, even, and he really need to win it by 65-35. Not gonna happen.

[eomer]

65. Well, seriously, I just answered that question. So, yes, what I said is what I meant.

I do think he can still win.

I don't know if he *will* win or not. But that's why we, in theory, hold the elections. I say in theory because our elections are so fucked up that they are a sham. But if we were really a democracy, that would be why we hold the elections.

[restorefreedom]

17. A he can still win B if she is "bleeding"

its because her crappy policies and ties to wall st make her a weak candidate. its not his job to protect her. its her job to WIN, and if she can't handle bernie, what is she going to do with trump?

[Adrahil]

23. I disagree.

If he cares about eh country, at some point he has to prioritize defeating the GOP, as he has said he will do. He has said that on her WORST day, she is WAY better than any of the GOP candidates. Did he mean it? If he did, he needs to start acting like it fairly soon.

[restorefreedom]

28. he said he is in until the convention

and he has every right to be. and if the corrput dnc had not propped up a candidate under criminal investigstion, maybe bernie would have other options. but until we know for sure there are no legal issues and the convention has decided the nom, i actually think it would be irresponsible for him to leave now.

[Adrahil]

36. Sure he has the right.

And I'm not even saying he should drop out. But I do think he should shift his fire at the GOP now. He can no longer realistically beat Clinton. There is no benefit in attempting to damage her further. He can advance his message and continue to gather delegates by focusing on the GOP, however.

[restorefreedom]

42. its a fine line

many of his core issues are ones that clinton is on the other side on. campaign finance, trade, foreign policy/war

even if he chose not to mention her by name, the very fact that he discusses "special interests buying politicians" will make some people accuse him of going after her.

its up to him which candidates, if any, he continues to mention by name. but the fact that she is on the other side of his basic message is one he can't do anything about unless he stops talking, which i am sure many would like to see.

and as long as he is in the primary process, he needs to highlight differences with his opponent, otherwise he is just doing ge campaigning. if thats the case, i would rather he just go back to the senate than water down his message to try and protect her.

[bjo59]

76. I fail to see how it would be "for the good of the country" if Sanders dropped out.

It would be for the good of Hillary and the good of Hillary and the good of the country are two very different things.

[Adrahil]

80. He doesn't have to drop out....

But he should recognize that he cannot realistically win. And he has had already said he would support Clinton against any of the GOP. Did he mean it? If he did, then he needs to start thinking about the election in November.

I wouldn't conflate Clinton's welfare with the Country's, but I will say that doing anything to improve the chances of Trump or Cruz in winning the Presidency would be decidedly AGAINST the good of the country.

In short, he needs to direct his fire against the Republicans at this point.

[amborin]

10. getting Bernie out makes it all the more challenging for the FBI and Justice Dept

i think that's the sub-text here

[GoneFishin]

30. Excellent point. There's some food for thought. nt

[BernieforPres2016]

41. I agree, and that's why Hillary and her supporters want him out

And it's exactly why Bernie should stay in all the way to the convention and his people should continue to work the superdelegates.

[Skwmom]

12. They are REALLY worried about something. And if anyone thinks Bernie is the reason for her

unfavorables I have a bridge to sell you.

They mentioned a fainting couch on With All Due Respect. Hmm...

[Zynx]

16. Christ. It's that we're concerned that another two months of ads calling

her a liar and embittering supporters of a campaign that can't win can only be harmful.

I can hold your hand through the calculations of the remaining delegates to show you how this doesn't work for Bernie. Do you want me to? I can.

[Skwmom]

21. Bernie has hardly laid a glove on her. Link to the ad? I think it is also the GOP that want him

out of the race. They are chomping at that bit.

I can assure you, I don't have to have my hand held through math calculations.

[Human101948]

51. But she has weathered 30 years of Republican attacks...

How can Bernie hurt her at this late date? Could it be that she's actually a weak candidate with sky high negatives?

[amborin]

83. Bernie supporters can make up their own minds, thanks very much!

if i'm understanding you correctly, you seem to be saying that Bernie supporters would become
embittered by pointing out HRC's lies? Bernie supporters already know full well about her.

Bernie can still win, and HrC is not guaranteed the nomination by any means.

[restorefreedom]

22. yes they are desperate to get him out

if he was harmless, they could just smile.

[geek tragedy]

13. No, people want him to stop being negative and trashing Clinton and the party

He is not a legitimate threat to win the nomination.

That will be even more painfully obvious one week from today.

[truedelphi]

32. Oh for Pete's sake, if she can't stand up to the minor charges Bernie makes against her,

How would she ever handle the Trump situation!

Also, the Mainstream Media, bought and paid for by Big Oil, Big Nukes, Big Military, slants every single news story positively for her. (Outside of Fox, which will go negative on her, but for things like her support of abortion rights.)

Bernie has to be on the attack. His opposition has royally screwed middle class America, and if he doesn't make that his message, the Mainstream Whores of the Major News Conglomerates certainly won't.

[highprincipleswork]

34. He faults her for not being Progressive enough. Is that a Republican talking point?

[geek tragedy]

55. accusing her of breaking the law is a Republican tactic as is saying

she's not qualified

[highprincipleswork]

58. I am curious as to where you have Bernie Sanders accusing her of breaking the law?

[geek tragedy]

60. "Sanders accuses DNC, Clinton campaign of illegal scheme"

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/sanders-accuses-dnc-clinton-campaign-illegal-scheme

Note that Sanders then turned around and sent a fundraising email citing their own accusations.

This is why many of us agree with "Bernie tones it down, if not, fuck him."

[Rosa Luxemburg]

91. Hillary wasn't exactly nice to Obama in 2008

[geek tragedy]

94. I was not a big fan of hers in 2008 nt

[Zynx]

14. It's the fact that Sanders supporters are flat-out slandering the presumptive nominee.

The sheer reckless brazeness of it is what outrages us. It's frustrating to deal with people who don't accept reality.

Do the math. You'll see that it doesn't make any sense for him to fight this bitterly to the end. Maybe as a happy warrior, but not how he recently did things, no.

[Marr]

19. Clinton's record in the 2008 primary makes these whines laughably hypocritical.

She stayed in to the convention, making racist dog whistle attacks all the way.

Such a candidate has no room to say legitimate criticism needs to stop this early in the primary season, sorry.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

93. I remember it well

[4nic8em]

108. Indeed...

Hillary stayed in until AFTER the last state voted (South Dakota) then went to the convention. Bernie will stay in until the last state votes and then go to the convention. According to some Hillary supporters here, it's kinda the same, but different. I think some are maybe too young to remember or don't give a shit...

[Marr]

113. Yep. And it's odd to see the same crowd mocking the idea of a potential indictment,

since I remember Hillary's justification for staying in the race against Obama. She repeatedly referenced the Bobby Kennedy assassination-- saying basically she should stay in because who knows what might happen to Obama. It was pretty sick.

[restorefreedom]

20. sorry but speaking the truth

about her ties to wall st, her hawkish policies, and her protrade sell out of workers is not slander. its reality. and if she needs bernie to protect her, she has no chance of winning a ge

[randome]

24. Why do you insist on war-like terminology?

They are opponents in a political primary. Of course each wants the other out.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[restorefreedom]

29. huh. war like? nt

[randome]

35. 'Threat'. Maybe 'warlike' wasn't the term I was looking for.

It's more like you insist on portraying them as enemies, though. They're simply opponents and eventually one of them will endorse the other.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[restorefreedom]

38. threat to her candidacy/nom is what i meant.

don't really know another word for it.

believe me, not a fan of anything war.

[Triana]

25. Bernie's message and his revolution go far beyond 2016

Establishment, corprat-friendly "Democrats" (ie: 1960s Republicans like Hillary) had better look out in 2018 and 2020. Because WE. THE. PEOPLE. have had QUITE enough of their Centrist 'Republican Lite' corprat-ass-kissing, Wall St.-coddling, economy-destroying, environment-burning-for-profit bullshit.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

92. yes

[truedelphi]

26. Sing it loud and sing it strong -Clinton always gets it wrong.

She'll be indicted before she is the candidate!

[nolawarlock]

27. That is not the reason.

The reason they're asking him to step aside is the same reason folks asked Hillary to step aside in 2008, so that the nominee would have more time to build up a strategy against the other side's nominee. In this case, both parties are up for grabs and every candidate they have over there is an idiot so I don't care that much if he steps aside. I know he's going to lose either way and the whole preparation works both ways. I've seen more Tepublican critiques of Sanders lately and every one of those critiques is one less critique for Clinton. So let him stay. He's still gonna lose and I have no doubt that Hillary will be president elect come November.

[tularetom]

31. How have I not put you on ignore already?

For that ugly ass sig line alone.

[nolawarlock]

53. LOL!

Flounce if you will. No skin off my nose.

[nolawarlock]

57. Oh and by the way ...

Ignore me all you like. Unlike Facebook, I can still see what you write and have the last word on any point we disagree on. Remember, in debate, it's all about the audience.

[GoneFishin]

33. Nearly all of their posts have the stink of psyops. Very few contain concrete information. nt

[restorefreedom]

37. as is typical. nt

[Autumn]

39. That' exactly what it is. Their desperation reeks.

[restorefreedom]

43. they are always so obvious! nt

[Zira]

40. The truth is, regardless of mass voter disenfranchizement, Hillary's polls are still on a downward

spiral and continue that one direction that she's been on for months. Bernie support has continued to rise which has been his only direction. They will cross each other this week in the national Dem polls. Both heading in their consistent directions.

The last poll had Hillary with 2 points on him nationally and showing she was still going down, and him up.

[restorefreedom]

44. yup. hence the slow walk to panic mode. nt

[seabeyond]

47. Of course he is a threat to Clinton, Democrats, GE with his trash talk.

[ContinentalOp]

48. Of course he's a threat.

Not in the sense that he has any chance in hell of winning, but in the sense that he's going to continue to attack Clinton and give false hope to his supporters which will leave them even angrier and more disillusioned when she inevitably gets the nomination. The ultimate effect of the Sanders campaign is probably going to be reduced turnout among young people in the general. There is no benefit for an underdog to attack his own party from the left, other than hoping to throw the election to the republicans and force some kind of progressive revolution in the future. But when has that ever worked?

[restorefreedom]

50. i wouldn't worry

there is no way bernie is secretly working for trump. he has a core message that he believes in which represents the best of progressivism. its not his or his supporters fault if clinton is so fsr right of him that him campaigning his message looks like an attack. that is her weakness and if it costs her the ge, that is on her, not bernie.

and besides, the longer she and bernie spar, the less either of them gets into it with trump, i would think that a good thing, considering all the material i am sure he is gathering.

[ContinentalOp]

64. Republicans can't attack her from the left.

Getting the left worked up about an idealistic purity candidate with no chance of winning is only going to leave Sanders supporters angry and disillusioned in the general. If we end up with a racist, misogynistic, anti-gay, anti-abortion republican in the White House because Sanders supporters stay home, then that's absolutely on Sanders. We're arguing about $12 vs $15 minimum wage when the other party doesn't even believe in minimum wage? When Trump actually said he thinks wages are too high!? We're arguing about free college when the republicans would love to privatize k-12 education if they could get away with it? The main criticism of Clinton's policies from Sanders supporters is her connections to wall street and big corporate money, but republican's can't attack her on that front at all. But if Sanders successfully convinces his supporters that she's a totally corrupt right winger who is no different than Trump, then yes, he's doing Trump's work for him and is basically doing exactly what Nader did to give us eight years of Bush.

[restorefreedom]

69. ok. i disagree about nader

scotus gsve it to w and gore was uninspiring. it was not naders fault.

but if she is really concerned about bernies core message, perhaps she should cut her ties to wall st and release the transcripts. if its a weakness, that is not bernies fault

[ContinentalOp]

77. The Nader effect was real and the same thing could happen this time.

I mean, that's the threat Sanders supporters are making right? They're not saying they'll vote for Trump, they're saying they'll stay home.

[restorefreedom]

81. i am sure his supporters will do a variety of things

but many do not feel that a clinton vote is obligatory. especially if there is no reason to vote FOR her. for many, her being "not trump" isn't good enough. we are talking about many young people who finally got involved in the political process just to see the rigged system kick them in the gut.

if i was in my twenties, i might stay home too after that.

[ContinentalOp]

84. The lack of self awareness is staggering.

If Sanders supporters feel like the system is rigged it's because they've completely bought into the story his campaign has been pushing. Every time he loses a primary it's "rigged" and the laughable conspiracy theories come out. His supporters aren't feeling the urgency of a "not trump" vote because he has done everything he can to paint Clinton as being no different from the alternative. So yeah, that's on him.

[nc4bo]

49. Not paying those folks any mind at all. Lips flap a mile a minute.

I just keep walking in my lane.

I really want to ask is : Why yall sweatin' when it's in the bag? Repub aren't going anywhere. Besides, haven't the Repubs heard it all before?

[restorefreedom]

52. thats exactly it. no threat, no sweat, one would think. nt

[azurnoir]

54. Ya he keeps getting in the way and it's her turn dam'it

she's entitled to that nomination according to some anyway

[La Lioness Priyanka]

56. the threat is not to the primary. the threat is that the longer she is still engaging in the primary

the less time she has to engage for the general.

there is a threat, it is just not the threat you want it to be.

[nc4bo]

59. She can handle Trump or so I've heard. EVERYBODY knows who she is sooooooooo......

Not much at all to worry about or so I've heard.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

63. she can, but she'd like to get an early start, and so would most democrats

i am not advocating that Bernie needs to step down, I am just pointing out that the threat this OP says there is, just isn't there. if there is a threat, it's a threat to the GE.

[restorefreedom]

61. if she can't stand up to criticism from a benign ally

and still deal with trump, how is she going to win a ge or function as president?

she is free to discuss trump all she likes. but bernie's core issues place her on the other side of those issues. but its his core message. its not his fault she chose to be waaaaay to his and most dems right.

he is leading a revolution. even if he stops mentioning her by name, she is still to the right of him on issues. no way to avoid that unless he stops talking and gives up the revolution, and i don't see that happening.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

62. i didn't say any of those things. she is standing up to his criticism

you know how i know this? the 2.5 million more votes she has.

[restorefreedom]

67. and sadly, trump will top that in a ge

why she would be itching to get into it with him is beyond me. once he unrolls his "opposition research" she is in big trouble. she might prefer bernie for now.....

[La Lioness Priyanka]

68. no, he won't. nt

[restorefreedom]

70. tomato tomaaaato. we will find out in a few months. nt

[DCBob]

75. +1

[NCTraveler]

66. There really isn't a sound mathematical way he can win.

He can damage the party and increase the chance of a republican winning the GE.

[restorefreedom]

71. how is him talking progressive principles

and calling out political corruption helping the republicans? this should be in the dem wheelhouse. unless it touches on hillarys political weaknesses, which will plague her in a ge, bernie or no bernie

[NCTraveler]

74. I think he should continue talking about those issues. Nt

[restorefreedom]

78. just as a former candidate?

or as a current candidate?

some have suggested that him staying in is "hurting the party." some think it depends on what he is saying and doing. i think he needs to run until he doesn't but i don't want him to water down his message. as to what he does if and when he is no longer a candidate, that will be up to him but i can't imagine him not continuing to lead this revolution.

[NCTraveler]

85. As a current candidate.

He absolutely has the ability to damage the party.

I don't see this as revolutionary. I understand you do. I feel he is going to tell Weaver to shove it and go back to his message from the first month of his campaign.

[restorefreedom]

87. i always felt that his core message was his strength

and will continue to be. so do you think if he stays in and promotes his core message this hurts the party? or are you talking about the more recent focus on clinton in particular?

[NCTraveler]

89. His more recent change.

I believe his original message helped us all.

[restorefreedom]

90. no doubt the whole primary has become quite ugly. but they tend to i guess. nt

[amborin]

82. this is absolute CRUX of it!!! If he weren't a threat, he'd be tolerated; he can still win, hence he

is a HUGE threat!

[restorefreedom]

86. ! nt

[winter is coming]

88. You're wrong.

It's "yooge".

[restorefreedom]

99. :) there is never really a bad time

for mp

https://m.

[amborin]

109. LOL!

[restorefreedom]

112. mp.....always relevant :) nt

[amborin]

116. LOL!

[sadoldgirl]

95. If Bernie is a threat to HRC now,

because she needs to concentrate on the GE,
then I have to ask:

How much did she care about Obama's need to do
so in 08?

Again:What is good for the goose, is good for the gander.

(And I recall her viscous attacks against him then!)

[restorefreedom]

97. in 08, as now,

it was never about the good of the party. its always what is good for HER.

[JoePhilly]

96. He should stay in as long as he wants.

He can't win.

But he can absolutely stay in as long as he likes

If only so his most angry supporters have to endure this until Hillary's victory is complete.

[restorefreedom]

98. you enjoy seeing people feeling disenfranchised and demoralized?

i am sure those very individuals will flock to the polls to vote for her in nov, too...... (sarc)

[killbotfactory]

101. I think they just don't want him pushing the democrats to the left.

It will make it harder to adopt "sensible" republican positions in the general election.

[restorefreedom]

103. ahhhh yes, the pivot.

well luckily for her she is already there

[Half-Century Man]

104. You don't have to attack the guy beating his head on the walls of the castle.

You have to react to the battering ram.

[Lil Missy]

106. aaaand .. the fantasy continues!!

[amborin]

110. kicking, b/c this is WHY they want Bernie out!!!!! He is a THREAT!!!!! He might WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hillary and her supporters to Bernie: Drop out NOW! Or you might WIN!

that's why there is such constant vitriol: because Bernie is such a YUUUUUGE threat!

[restorefreedom]

111. yuuuuuuge! nt

[Demsrule86]

114. He is helping the GOP now

Bernie is now a threat to all Americans.

[nc4bo]

115. What a ridiculously dumb thing to say. nt

[Stuckinthebush]

118. Hyperbolic

But has a bit of truth to it.

[felix_numinous]

117. Hillary still refused to concede on JUNE 4, 2008

though people were urging her to do so. Just another double standard.

[Buns_of_Fire]

119. Vet her now, or vet her later. One way or another, she's gonna get vetted.

Better it be done during the primary, where she'll have at least a semi-sympathetic crowd, rather than during the GE when both sides are all-in and the long knives come out. Practice the delivery, muzzle some of the surrogates, send Bubba on a mission to Samoa for seven months or so, things like that.

Or at least that's what I told John Podesta this morning when he called me for advice.