Cable News Just Can't Bring Itself To Admit That Bernie Sanders Won

[JoeOtterbein]

HuffPost

It was the moderates who really won!

By Amanda Terkel

Just so we’re clear, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary. He received the most votes. He won.

But you might not know that if you were watching cable news.

“The big winner last night could be Mayor Bloomberg,” Jim Messina, Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign manager, said on MSNBC Wednesday.

Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City who is pumping millions of dollars from his own fortune into the presidential race, was not on the ballot in New Hampshire.

Sanders’ victory was narrower than it was in 2016′s primary, when he beat Hillary Clinton in the state. But it was also just a two-person race that year.

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is currently leading in the delegate count from the chaotic Iowa caucuses, but Sanders won the popular vote there. Both men have declared victories in the state. In New Hampshire, both Sanders and Buttigieg will emerge with the same number of delegates.

snip

more denial at the link

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Maybe that's because he didn't. He tied in the only measure that matters - delegates.

Buttigieg still has more of them than Bernie does.

[CowboyProgressive]

9. The measure that matters in these small first few states is Vote totals.

We are all democrats here, many of us have made the argument the popular vote IS THE way you declare a winner.

[Bev54]

13. Hahahaha

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. Not according to how the DNC tallies delegates.

Those are the rules. Don't like the rules? Get them changed or don't play the game.

[mysteryowl]

2. I watched some of the returns on MSNBC and CNN last night

He was talked about as the candidate in the lead.

[chillfactor]

3. oh good grief!

stop whining……...several cable channels said he won NH...but he IS behind in number of delegates.

[Skittles]

14. playing the victim

it is tiresome

[chillfactor]

17. yep......

whine, whine. whine gets so annoying.

[Sherman A1]

4. Turn the cable noise off

And what they say will not be a problem.

[Mike Nelson]

5. I didn't get that impression...

... I watched MSNBC and they were clear when they decided Bernie won. I watched FOX to see how they were reacting and they were clear, too... I did think there was some favoritism toward Amy - I think it's because she's the "new" one. I like her and it's good to see her get some attention. They sometimes called Bernie the front-runner now, but I'd argue co-front-runner, with Pete.

[relayerbob]

6. After all those years campaigning 24/7

And despite all the hoopla and all the overpoweringly loud voices (ad actions) of his followers, his victory is very shallow. He's lost half of his supporters from 2016, and 75% of the Dems want anyone else, even some dude who was just a small town mayor, or former Republicans. His "victory" in this marathon is only that he crossed the first mile mark a step ahead of said small town mayor. If he was actually popular, he would be ahead by a country mile.

Most people want stability back, and know that revolutions are dirty, nasty, bloody things. Most of us don't want revolutions or reality shows, we want to be able to sleep at night again. We want hope. That's what has won for Democrats in the past. Hope. Sanders has some good ideas ... but, with his constant stream of attacks and negativity, is likely the worst messenger for those ideas.

[bluewater]

7. "more denial at the link" and more denial in this thread ;)

[JGug1]

8. Bernie

The truth is that he won. BUT, he didn't win like he won in 2016. Buttigieg really did do very well. The story coming out of NH was Pete and Amy. Everyone knew Bernie would win. He just didn't win by enough.

[George II]

10. In the grand scheme of things, inasmuch as he won his neighboring state last time with 60%....

...of the vote by more than 20%, last night's result could easily be considered a loss.

Yes, he "won" last night (by 1.5%), and he's going around claiming victory in two states now, but he's yet to finish ahead of anyone in that all-important category - delegates.

[Dem2]

11. One or two pundits, but it isn't generally true

Stop doing this, it makes Bernie seem like a whiner.

[beastie boy]

12. Bernie's victory in NH was underwhelming.

Only 2% ahead of the underdog in a state he won decisively in '16.

Bloomberg's meteoric rise in the polls despite not even running in NH was a far more compelling story. And, being in the business of selling compelling stories, the cable news went for... you guessed it, a more compelling story. So was Buttigieg's close second placement. Nothing personal, it's business.

If you noticed, neither Biden nor Warren got nearly as much coverage. I will let you guess why. Hint: it has to do with business and compelling stories.

[greenjar_01]

15. The endless stream of resentment

Good Lord.