Sanders talking on ABC about "the power of the establishment to force" Klobuchar, Buttigieg out

[highplainsdem]

of the race.


I already posted an OP about Sanders' comments on Meet The Press this morning:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287646105


He was peddling the same silly line on ABC's This Week, as this tweet with video shows:

Link to tweet

Reminds me of someone else who imagines influential conspirators working against him...

[George II]

1. Blah blah blah. Reminds me of this old song:

[handmade34]

2. different sides

of the coin... just saying

[paleotn]

3. Now he's saying....

The establishment forced out what he use to call the establishment candidates. And that's meant to bring Pete and Klobuchar voters to his side? Maybe it's too early on Sunday morning, but that just doesn't compute.

[Bev54]

26. If voters wanted him they would vote for him

they are not voting for him and he cannot compute that.

[paleotn]

30. If Amy or Pete voters....

wanted Biden, they would have voted for Joe. Now that Klobuchar and Buttigieg are gone, Biden's campaign is reaching out to them. Not as far a reach as it is for Bernie, given his positions on some issues, but he's not even making the effort, other than the ham handed, cranky, old man shit we see in the clip. It's coalition time and to build one a candidate may have to moderate and / or modify the message to appeal to a wider range of Democrats. He's not doing it. He has only one speed.

[oasis]

42. Simply put...... It's DENIAL. nt

[bluedye33139]

4. So many conspiracy theories

I saw someone posting on Twitter that Elizabeth Warren was commanded by the DNC to lose Massachusetts. It was possibly one of the weirdest conspiracy theories I've seen so far in this primary season. According to the conspiracy theory, she was instructed to lose and so she somehow, possibly with psychic powers, instructed her supporters not to vote for her.

[Renew Deal]

5. Sanders was counting on division to win

[Gothmog]

44. From day 1, Bernie built a campaign to appeal to 30%

Link to tweet

So if, from day one, they didn’t think they needed more than 30%, why would they actually run a campaign and build a culture designed to win more than his 30% ceiling? As that article notes, even way back in early 2019, Sanders was picking fights and creating enemies out of potential allies.

We saw that in Sanders’ refusal to broaden his message to bring in more people. When I said exactly that on Meet the Press, that “the problem with Bernie Sanders is that he has the exact same message he had four years ago” when he lost to Hillary Clinton 60-40, the response from the Sanders campaign was, well, this:

Link to tweet

If your message wasn’t a majority message four years ago, and you want to win, wouldn’t you tweak it? They didn’t. Proudly and explicitly did not tweak it. They had zero intention of growing new support by broadening and expanding their message. (Sanders famously refused to even inject more biography into his stump speech to humanize him more.)

Sanders and his campaign saw that their ceiling was 30%, and they built an entire strategy around winning with 30%. That means that instead of seeing the other 70% of voters as allies, they saw them as THE ENEMY. Even when there was ideological alignment.

[secondwind]

6. They didn't have a chance to win, and they knew it.

They were running out of money, etc. Sanders is getting more desperate by the day

[PatSeg]

7. My god, I think he really believes it

He thinks there is some establishment conspiracy against him. He doesn't for one minute, take any responsibility for his campaign and how it is turning off many voters. He is insulting the many voters who voted for someone else, as if they are mindless sheep.

[barbtries]

23. so do many of his supporters. nt

[PatSeg]

27. Its really scary

Like a paranoia conspiracy spreading throughout the left, as well as the right. The sooner we get a nominee the better. We need some stability and direction.

[Thekaspervote]

8. Always rigged!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[honest.abe]

9. Sorry Bernie nobody is buying your anti-Democrat nonsense anymore.

You will soon be mathematically eliminated so might was start packing your bags and retreat back to Vermont.

[empedocles]

10. BS, like some of his supporters on DU, spends such a huge mount of his ink & air time,

interestedness, and energy, against Dems [ instead of traitortrump].

So . . . conspicuous

[BlueIdaho]

11. The more he talks

The more he sounds like Trump. Crazy unsubstantiated claims tossed around with wild abandon.

[J_William_Ryan]

12. This sort of reckless, irresponsible rhetoric is why Sanders is unfit to be the nominee.

No one has been ‘forced’ out of the primaries.

[zackymilly]

13. Bernie will soon be blaming the establishment for himself having to get out. n/t

[brush]

14. "I'm shocked, shocked that politics is being played here."

Sorry, Sanders has been in politics for decades so he knows how the game is played.

Oh wait, maybe not. He still thinks America will elect a socialist.

[TexasTowelie]

15. If Bernie wants to maintain a positive legacy with the Democratic Party,

then he needs to vocally support other Democrats running for office and ask his contributor to donate those candidates.

[George II]

20. He has barely mentioned any other candidates in primaries coming up, just himself...

The other candidates, while at rallies, push for them too.

[karynnj]

16. This is so weird -- who forced Martin O'Malley out in 2016?

Who forced Biden, Dodd, Richardson, and Edwards out in 2008? Who forced Clark, Lieberman, Dean etc out in 2004.

Both Klobuchar and Buttigieg had internal polls - and likely saw after SC that their prospects were limited. I would guess that both saw that staying in would simply keep Biden's numbers down compared to Sanders. I suspect that their actions did not change the number of Sanders votes. He got his one third of the vote - and a higher percent of the delegates.

Biden was - after SC - very likely to be the top non Sanders candidate. It was very likely that the other moderates would have freed their pledged delegates and most would have then voted for Biden. Look how they answered the question on the ballot process. What could have, but was not, said was that pledged delegates could move before the first ballot.

There are 2 reasons this hurt him:
1) Biden is now ahead
2) Sanders own numbers are lower because far fewer votes were wasted for being below the threshold.

[Zambero]

17. The all-new Sanderskrit definition of Establishment

Anyone who is actually a Democrat. If you happen to be a long-term independent who routinely transforms into a "Democrat" whenever the Presidential primary season is looming, then you must be bona fide "Anti-Establishment".

[Sloumeau]

21. Sanskrit: An old dead language

Sanderskrit: A language used by Bernie Sanders and his followers in order to distort the truth.

[dalton99a]

18. And the Trump cult will vote for him out of sympathy

“It's rigged against Bernie. There's no question about it. I think they're trying to take it away from him. I don't know if that's fair...”

[Sloumeau]

19. No one tells Mayor Pete Buttigieg what to do.

No one tells Senator Amy Klobuchar what to do. Buttigieg had close to zero support among African Americans, so he was always going to hit a wall in South Carolina. Amy's support with African Americans was also not strong enough to weather South Carolina. They had no pathway to the nomination, and they were both smart enough to know it. They also did not want to be slaughtered on Super Tuesday.

What Bernie Sanders is saying is simply untrue. If he had any evidence at all, which he does not, he would refer to it.

[evertonfc]

22. He has absolutely no idea what he's talking sbout

stunning rhetoric. He's about to get obliterated by our party. The revolution isn't showing up

[we can do it]

24. Tired of never-ending BS.

[OnDoutside]

25. That's quite disgraceful, and a repeat of 2016, where he created

shite between the Democratic Party and his supporters.

[Kingofalldems]

28. He once again attacks the Democratic party.

[Mike Nelson]

29. Very easy to check...

... just ask Pete and Amy if they were forced to leave the race, and by whom... in fact, they should really be confirming this on their own, today. Why haven't we seen the confirming clips?

[comradebillyboy]

31. We need to take young Sanders supporters very seriously

when they threaten not to turn out for the nominee.

They've refused to turn out before, like for Sanders in 2020.

[BidenBacker]

32. As ol' Bernie the broken record would say..."I am sick and tired"

of him constantly resorting to this "Establishment" bogeyman of his every single time something doesn't go his way...or somebody opposes him...or somebody votes against him...or somebody burns his toast. It's just like Trump and the reich wing's "Deep State" bullshit. The fact that it's coming from the opposite side of the political spectrum doesn't make it any less nonsensical or tedious.

I always found Amy & Pete to be highly intelligent, highly articulate and highly strong-willed people. I seriously doubt anybody forced them out of the race...even Obama couldn't have done that. Sanders probably woulda been more accurate to attribute their exits to literacy...because unlike Bernie they could clearly read the writing on the wall.

Perhaps in his advanced age Bernie's eyesight is failing...that often happens to a person when they get old. After Biden sweeps a half dozen states next Tuesday those letters on the wall will get a little bigger so hopefully even Sanders with his failing vision will be able to start making out some of the letters...

"BE*N*E S*ND*RS, T*E V*T*RS S*Y TO G*T TH* F*CK O*T O* *HE RA*E!"

The rest of them will get filled in on April 17th.

[dalton99a]

33. And he goes on Fox News:

[Gothmog]

34. In the real world, candidates who do not have a path to victory drop out

Link to tweet

[tishaLA]

35. Coulda sworn fans of the junior senator from VT were hectoring Sen Warren

to drop out for a few weeks so he could consolidate the "progressive" vote. Is he trying to act like that didn't happen, or just that it's OK when he does it but not when others do?

[beachbumbob]

36. its all BS BS, nothing more, nothing less. poor ME ME ME ME

the mean old "establishment" = true democratic voters don't like me

[Cha]

41. +1!

[LizBeth]

37. If Sanders is not given advantage with five people splitting vote, then he is being picked on. Whine

[vercetti2021]

38. I'm going to do this instead

He's the one with some kind of dementia problem because you got to be a complete freaking nutcase to believe that it's rigged against you.

[Happy Hoosier]

39. Translation: I can only win by splitting the opposition.

Not a good look Bernie!

[Cha]

40. "ESTABLISHMENT"!!!!!!!

[Gothmog]

43. sanders' campaign plan to win the nomination with only 30% of the vote

Link to tweet

[helpisontheway]

45. Yeah he was happy when all the moderates were splitting the vote..

He knew the moderates are majority but wanted them to keep splitting the vote because that is the only way he can win.

[onetexan]

46. sounds like sour grapes to me