I believe that whoever gets the most votes will be the nominee.

[redgreenandblue]

I know that some people think it's cute to suggest otherwise. But to do otherwise isn't a practical possibility in the real world.

We simply don't live in a universe where such an act happens in a vacuum and doesn't lead to a landslide victory for Trump and to irreparable damage to the Democratic party.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. 66% of Democrats oppose Bernie

Just sayin'.

[DanTex]

4. Not even close.

[MrsCoffee]

7. Socialist. No other characteristic seems to have such a strong negative effect on electability.

https://news.yahoo.com/new-yahoo-news-you-gov-poll-shows-sanderss-strength-going-head-to-head-with-rivals-181522968.html

But voters don’t necessarily grasp the distinction between socialism and democratic socialism. When asked whether the two ideologies are the same or different, 38 percent of Americans said “the same” and 38 percent said “different.” Another 24 percent said they weren’t sure.

Regardless, only 35 percent of Americans said they would even consider voting in a general election for a candidate who called himself or herself a “democratic socialist.” Forty-six percent said no, while another 18 percent said they weren’t sure. Among independents, those numbers were even less favorable to Sanders: 31 percent yes, 47 percent no and 22 percent not sure. Meanwhile, most Americans (52 percent) said only “some” or “a few” of their peers would consider voting for a democratic socialist.

In the poll, no other candidate characteristic seemed to have such a strong negative effect on electability. Sixty percent of Americans said they would consider voting for a gay candidate (like Buttigieg). Sixty-seven percent said they would consider voting for a billionaire (like Bloomberg and Tom Steyer and, taking him at his own word, Trump). Fifty-four percent said they would consider voting for a candidate with no prior experience in national government (like Buttigieg, Bloomberg and Steyer). Forty-seven percent said they would consider voting for a candidate over 75 years old (like Sanders, Biden and Bloomberg). Sixty-four percent said they would consider voting for a candidate under 40 years old (like Buttigieg). Eighty-three percent said they would consider voting for a woman (like Warren and Klobuchar). Eighty-four percent said they would consider voting for a Jewish candidate (like Sanders and Bloomberg). And 44 percent said they would vote for a Muslim candidate (there isn’t one this year) — nearly 10 points more than the number who said they would vote for a democratic socialist.

[DanTex]

8. "New Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows Sanders's strength going head-to-head with rivals"

The headline from that article says it all.

[MrsCoffee]

12. And yet most of us still don't want him.

[DanTex]

34. Depends who you mean by "us". Democratic voters prefer Bernie to anyone else.

But I'm sure there's some other group of "us" that doesn't want Bernie.

[MrsCoffee]

37. No. It just means that the votes of those who don't want him are split between other candidates.

Most of us don’t want him.

[DanTex]

38. Again, depends on who "us" is. Polls show that Bernie is the candidate that the most Dems

would find either acceptable or enthusiastic about. Sorry, but the data doesn't match up with your argument. At all.

[MrsCoffee]

39. Quit fucking insinuating I'm not a Democrat.

You are insufferable.

[LanternWaste]

41. Ten bucks says you dramatically fail to see the irony of your invocation of data into a sentence.

Another ten you'll allege you're being serious.

At all.

[ehrnst]

48. You don't provide any data to support your claim. Got any?

[MineralMan]

46. If that were true, then Bernie would have a majority of delegates

at the Convention. He will not. Therefore, what you said is not true.

[DownriverDem]

9. Sorry

you are politically naive. Who will be voting in November? Center/Left Americans. They do not support Bernie. Your comment shows a disconnect,

[DanTex]

10. Polls show Bernie beating Trump. Sorry, but it's true.

Polls also show that the majority of Dems agree that Bernie is the best candidate to beat Trump. There is no data to support your position.

[ehrnst]

57. Polls show other Dem candidates are beating Trump...

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-d/

[aeromanKC]

33. True. Could be closer to 70%

[W_HAMILTON]

2. Our nominee will be the person that gets the most votes at the convention.

[redgreenandblue]

3. Yup. And that person will have won the popular vote in the primaries or Trump remains president. nt

[W_HAMILTON]

6. Who doesn't plan to "vote blue no matter who" then?

Lemme guess, the same childish people that didn't support the person that won a MAJORITY of both the popular vote and delegates and cost Democrats the presidential election last time around as well?

[DanTex]

11. Calling voters "childish" is an extremely poor voter outreach strategy.

[W_HAMILTON]

26. You can't win over the indoctrinated.

Nor should they even need to be "won over" given the stakes of this election, as we have seen everyday since the last election where they showed their ass and ushered in Trump. Hillary tried to win them over and look what good it did. Same goes for Warren this cycle. They failed to realize that a large portion of Sanders supporters will only supporter Sanders.

Not a movement, but a following.

[DanTex]

27. Calling voters "indoctrinated" is also a poor voter outreach strategy.

[W_HAMILTON]

30. It's a lot nicer than what Sanders supporters have been calling anyone they haven't indoctrinated.

[LanternWaste]

43. Petulant, self-righteous lectures are also a poor voter outreach strategy.

[LanternWaste]

42. As is a simplistic prophecy and calling it "polling data"

[ehrnst]

55. You know what else is extremely poor voter outreach strategy?

When one's staff is yelling "f*ck Warren! F*ck Pete!"

And when one's staff ignores the memo sent to surrogates about "engaging respectfully"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bernie-sanders-staffer-mocked-elizabeth-warrens-looks-pete-buttigiegs-sexuality-on-private-twitter-account


That said, I didn't know W_HAMILTON was on anyone's staff, let alone "voter outreach."

[HarlanPepper]

47. "Vote for Bernie or else."

That’s the vibe I’m getting. I don’t respond well to threats.

[DanTex]

5. Exactly. Either this, or we get Trump again, and nobody wants Trump.

I think it's just sound and fury. At least I hope so. I don't know if the planet will survive four more years of Trump. We might not even survive one more year of Trump.

[showblue22]

13. If Bernie wins the nomination with just 35% of the vote

and the DNC lets him change the rules of the game... Trump will 100% be reelected. There are now more moderates than Bernie supporters who will also be upset and sit out the election.

[DanTex]

14. No rules changes. The superdelegates just need to respect the will of the electorate.

If Bernie gets 35% and that 35% is more than any other candidate, then he should be the nominee. Obviously. And if he isn't, the party will fracture and Trump will get re-elected. It's not complicated.

[showblue22]

15. The superdelegates not being able to vote as the wish is a rules change.

[DanTex]

16. The superdelegates can vote as they wish, the question is how do they wish to vote.

Do they wish to vote for someone who got less delegates, and thereby ensure Trump's re-election by fracturing the party? Or do they wish to respect the voters?

Hopefully, for the sake of the planet, they wish to respect democracy.

[boston bean]

17. Ummm

Other candidates will have delegates.

You have no idea how those delegates will vote on a second round.

So please work with the full deck of facts.

[showblue22]

18. There is no winner until all votes are counted including superdelegates.

That is democracy. Democracy is following the rules as they were at the beginning of the game. The rules all candidates signed off on.

[DanTex]

19. Correct. And if the superdelegates don't respect the will of the voters, then the party fractures,

and Trump gets re-elected. I don't want that.

[boston bean]

20. If Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Klobuchar pledge to Biden for example

Biden will have the majority of delegates.

[DanTex]

21. The delegates get to vote at the convention, not the candidates.

And, unless the delegates decide to respect the will of the electorate, the party will fracture, and Trump will be handed four more years on a platter.

That would be horrible. If Biden wants to be the nominee, it's simple. He needs to go out and win more voted and pledged delegates than anyone else. Same for any other candidate.

[boston bean]

23. Right. And if they go to Biden ias in my example

He will have the majority of delegates. And I assure if that is what happens they will get behind Biden.

If Bernie gets them, they will support Bernie.

[DanTex]

25. Yes, and that would fracture the party. Because people can bang away all they want on twitter.

But at the end of the day, if the candidate with the most pledged delegates doesn't get the nomination, even a 5-year-old will understand that the will of the electorate was ignored. And that will fracture the party and re-elect Trump.

I'm not saying that the delegates aren't allowed to do that. On a second ballot, they can do anything they want. They can vote for Rush Limbaugh if they want. But that would be a very bad idea.

[ehrnst]

52. "But at the end of the day, if the candidate with the most pledged delegates doesn't get the nom...

even a 5-year-old will understand that the will of the electorate was ignored. And that will fracture the party and re-elect Trump."

On May 29, 2016, Sanders said superdelegates had the “very grave responsibility to make sure that Trump [is not] elected president of the United States. Vote for the strongest candidate.

And even as Clinton secured the Democratic nomination the following week, Sanders continued to push for superdelegates to vote to override Clinton’s pledged delegate majority.

Told on June 7, 2016, that his superdelegate convention push would defy history and the will of the voters, Sanders said, “Defying history is what this campaign has been about.””

Bernie Sanders pushed for a contested convention in 2016. Now he wants to avoid one. Feb 27, 2020.

[showblue22]

22. The will of the voters is not with someone with 35% of the vote.

The will of the voters is obviously OTHER if he fails to get a majority. If we allow someone to go up against trump who can not form a coalition we're doomed.

[DanTex]

24. If that's more than anyone else, then yes, it is.

It's absurd to claim that the will of the voters is someone with 25% of the vote, when someone else got 35% of the vote.

[showblue22]

28. Delegates at the convention represent voters.

Other wise, why do we even have delegates? Why not just have a popular vote winner and that's it? People have to understand, this debate has already been had and Bernie was part of the discussion. He signed off on it. Like it or not, it's the way our system is. I wasn't here in 2016 but I wonder if Bernie supporters were OK with Bernie threatening a contested convention at that time? I know they were on twitter.

[DanTex]

29. Hopefully, you're right, they will represent the voters, and respect the will of the electorate.

If not, the party fractures, and Trump gets re-elected.

[showblue22]

31. In my opinion, Trump wins in a landslide against Bernie.

The will of the voters is whatever t he delegates decide at the convention.

[DanTex]

32. The data, of course, doesn't back that up. And in polls, most Dems say that Bernie

is the best candidate to defeat Trump. Hopefully the superdelegates respect the will of the voters.

[LanternWaste]

45. And only four weeks ago you minimized, trivialized and dismissed polls as part of the conspiracy.

Well... the year gets old pretty fast, and convictions are only as strong as the sand they shift on. I understand the usage of an ethical weathervane. Hell, it's his turn.

[ehrnst]

49. Which data are you citing?

[DanTex]

50. Take your pick. It all points the same way...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287590668

[redstateblues]

35. Once the Rs drive up Bernie's negatives by focusing on his past words and positions

Bernie will get crushed and most likely we will lose the House. No amount of happy talk will change that. A candidate going into the GE with 31% of his party excited about him is a recipe for disaster. We will get tired of hearing about the Socialist Workers Party and Honeymoon in Moscow

[ehrnst]

51. "Hopefully, you're right, they will represent the voters, and respect the will of the electorate."

If not, the party fractures, and Trump gets re-elected.

“I am not a great fan of superdelegates, but their job is to take an objective look at reality. And I think the reality is that we are the stronger candidate.”

On May 29, 2016, Sanders said superdelegates had the “very grave responsibility to make sure that Trump [is not] elected president of the United States. Vote for the strongest candidate.

And even as Clinton secured the Democratic nomination the following week, Sanders continued to push for superdelegates to vote to override Clinton’s pledged delegate majority.

Told on June 7, 2016, that his superdelegate convention push would defy history and the will of the voters, Sanders said, “Defying history is what this campaign has been about.”

Bernie Sanders pushed for a contested convention in 2016. Now he wants to avoid one. Feb 27, 2020.

[LanternWaste]

44. Fortune cookies. You like them, yes?

Are are they tea-leaves? Chicken entrails? Bumper stickers?

'cause I see no objective analysis, so we're going with fortune cookies.

[ehrnst]

56. "And if the superdelegates don't respect the will of the voters, then the party fractures,"

You think?

On May 29, 2016, Sanders said superdelegates had the “very grave responsibility to make sure that Trump [is not] elected president of the United States. Vote for the strongest candidate.

And even as Clinton secured the Democratic nomination the following week, Sanders continued to push for superdelegates to vote to override Clinton’s pledged delegate majority.

Told on June 7, 2016, that his superdelegate convention push would defy history and the will of the voters, Sanders said, “Defying history is what this campaign has been about.”

Bernie Sanders pushed for a contested convention in 2016. Now he wants to avoid one. Feb 27, 2020.

[ehrnst]

53. "Do they wish to vote for someone who got less delegates, and thereby ensure Trump's re-election by

by fracturing the party? Or do they wish to respect the voters?

Hopefully, for the sake of the planet, they wish to respect democracy.

You think so?

On May 29, 2016, Sanders said superdelegates had the “very grave responsibility to make sure that Trump [is not] elected president of the United States. Vote for the strongest candidate.

And even as Clinton secured the Democratic nomination the following week, Sanders continued to push for superdelegates to vote to override Clinton’s pledged delegate majority.

Told on June 7, 2016, that his superdelegate convention push would defy history and the will of the voters, Sanders said, “Defying history is what this campaign has been about.”

Bernie Sanders pushed for a contested convention in 2016. Now he wants to avoid one. Feb 27, 2020.

[AGeddy]

40. What is the point of a 50% rule if it can be ignored?

[ehrnst]

54. "The superdelegates just need to respect the will of the electorate."

If Bernie gets 35% and that 35% is more than any other candidate, then he should be the nominee. Obviously. And if he isn't, the party will fracture and Trump will get re-elected. It's not complicated.

Not complicated?

On May 29, 2016, Sanders said superdelegates had the “very grave responsibility to make sure that Trump [is not] elected president of the United States. Vote for the strongest candidate.

And even as Clinton secured the Democratic nomination the following week, Sanders continued to push for superdelegates to vote to override Clinton’s pledged delegate majority.

Told on June 7, 2016, that his superdelegate convention push would defy history and the will of the voters, Sanders said, “Defying history is what this campaign has been about.”

Bernie Sanders pushed for a contested convention in 2016. Now he wants to avoid one. Feb 27, 2020.

[KPN]

36. Your assessment is spot on.

[treestar]

58. Check the rules

I think there are issues if they don’t get a majority

[MineralMan]

59. Well, whoever gets a majority of votes AT THE CONVENTION will be, anyhow.

It might not be who you think, though. In fact, I'd bet not.

[redgreenandblue]

60. I wouldn't want to be the person...

... who gets nominated despite not having the majority of votes, and then goes on to get absolutely destroyed in the general election.

[MineralMan]

61. Well, since it seems unlikely that anyone will have a majority of delegates

on the first ballot, whoever wins the nomination is likely to be in that positions. The number of candidates would tend to make it almost impossible to go to the convention with a majority, so, a second ballot will probably be needed to discover who ends up with the majority of delegate votes.