2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: In all the "Bernie would have won/No he wouldn't" posts I've read........... [View all]Garrett78
(10,721 posts)Of course those things got some mention here and there. It's called vetting, an integral part of the process. But that stuff got so little coverage that I guarantee most don't even know about those things. Had Sanders been the nominee, though, there would have been an avalanche of ads featuring his rape article, video of him at a Sandanistas rally, his history of being on unemployment, co-sponsorship of a nuclear waste bill, etc.
Sanders never had the support of the Democratic Party base, however. And caucuses, which disenfranchise, are the only reason the primary was even remotely close. The primary was essentially decided by mid-March and arguably right after Super Tuesday. So, it was all moot.
Naturally, nobody at DU is going to have a binder of opposition research on Sanders. To suggest that's proof that no such binder exists is a laughable argument.
And the Republican Party had no need to attack Sanders, as he didn't become the nominee.
Instead, the primary - like the general - was dominated by Clinton email coverage.