Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Sanders 2020
Related: About this forum
You are in the Sanders 2020 Group. Only members who have selected Bernie Sanders as their preferred Democratic presidential candidate are permitted to post in this Group.
Regular Democrats Just Aren't Worried About Bernie
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/regular-democrats-arent-least-bit-worried-about-bernie/606688/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shareJudging by media coverage and the comments of party luminaries, you might think Democrats are bitterly polarized over Bernie Sanderss presidential bid. Last month, Hillary Clinton declared that nobody likes the Vermont senator. Last week, James Carville, who ran Bill Clintons 1992 campaign, said he was scared to death of the Sanders campaign, which he likened to a cult. Since the beginning of the year, news organization after news organization has speculated that Sanderss success may set off a Democratic civil war.
But polls of Democratic voters show nothing of the sort. Among ordinary Democrats, Sanders is strikingly popular, even with voters who favor his rivals. He sparks less oppositionin some cases far lessthan his major competitors. On paper, he appears well positioned to unify the party should he win its presidential nomination.
So why all the talk of civil war? Because Sanders is far more divisive among Democratic eliteswho prize institutional loyalty and ideological moderationthan Democratic voters. The danger is that by projecting their own anxieties onto rank-and-file Democrats, party insiders are exaggerating the risk of a schism if Sanders wins the nomination, and overlooking the greater risk that the party could fracture if they engineer his defeat.
But polls of Democratic voters show nothing of the sort. Among ordinary Democrats, Sanders is strikingly popular, even with voters who favor his rivals. He sparks less oppositionin some cases far lessthan his major competitors. On paper, he appears well positioned to unify the party should he win its presidential nomination.
So why all the talk of civil war? Because Sanders is far more divisive among Democratic eliteswho prize institutional loyalty and ideological moderationthan Democratic voters. The danger is that by projecting their own anxieties onto rank-and-file Democrats, party insiders are exaggerating the risk of a schism if Sanders wins the nomination, and overlooking the greater risk that the party could fracture if they engineer his defeat.
*snip*
Although political handicappers sometimes presume that centrist Democrats are hostile to Sanders, the Quinnipiac poll suggests that Sanders enjoys widespread affection even outside his ideological lane. Among self-described moderate or conservative Democrats, Sanders boasts a net favorability rating of 43 pointsfar higher than Biden or Bloomberg fares among the very liberal Democrats who compose Sanderss ideological base. Ninety-eight percent of Warren supporters, 97 percent of Buttigieg supporters and 92 percent of Biden supporters say they would back Sanders against Donald Trump. Only among Bloomberg supporters does that number dip to 83 percent. Overall, Sanders voters are significantly more likely to say that they wont back one of his rivals in the general election than the other way around. Sanderss critics within the party may resent his supporters for threatening to stay home in November. But most Democratic voters, including most centrist ones, have little problem with Sanders himself.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 543 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (4)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Regular Democrats Just Aren't Worried About Bernie (Original Post)
Nanjeanne
Feb 2020
OP
CentralMass
(15,504 posts)1. I'm a regular Democrat and my only worry is that he will get screwed.
Nanjeanne
(5,435 posts)2. Oh me too! I admire this man so much for his perseverance in the wake of such
horrific media "reporting".
airmid
(506 posts)3. Same here...It seems to be a theme. The better Bernie does the more vitriol is spewed. I just hope
that the main Primary forum I see here and the Twitterverse is not reflective of the whole field. I used to come to DU for solace and sanity. Now I find very little I can tolerate here anymore. I wasn't here for the last election, but my understanding is it was very bad. This article gives me hope.