Discussion for article #239910
Feel the Bern. He isn’t perfect, but he’s the best in the Democratic field in a long while, if not on electability (I shan’t kid myself), but on principles. The ideal is a Sanders presidency, but more likely is forcing Clinton to run and govern left.
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America is a a centrist country. Mort Sahl (look him up) said we were right wing, social Democrats. Holding the center is hard enough without extremist views on the left or right.
Enough with the incessant Bernie Sanders coverage, what did Donald Trump do today?
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I disagree with the narrative of the recent pollster out of Iowa. This is not 2008, and Bernie Sanders is NO Barack Obama. To me Bernie says the same things over and over again. I got it, we have inequality, banksters are bad, yada, yada, yada. He is the darling of young progressives. I am sorry, but Bernie does not excite me at all. There is always somebody who comes out and talks like he is the savior of the democratic party. I am 62 years old and I have heard it all before. I am ready for a change in the WH. I think we need a woman POTUS for a change. Why do we have to keep electing a male every election cycle. I won’t apologize for wanting a female in the WH, and many women out there feel the same. Go Hillary 2016!
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I would dearly love to see the cross tabs on this one. I’ve only seen the top level sheet on this poll, but I want to get into details, like…what is the breakdown of those who say they are going to be attending their first caucus.
Anyone have a link to the full poll with cross tabs?
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The article was a bit deceiving, because the 37% number for Hillary was based on having Biden in the race. The earlier Selzer poll didn’t include him. In today’s poll, Hillary has 43%, with Bernie at 35%, if Biden doesn’t enter the race. This comparison certainly shows Hillary down from the earlier poll, but not to the dramatic extent that the article would imply. I have read that no candidate has won more than 50% of caucus votes in the past. If that is true, then a Clinton showing in the mid-40s would be quite substantial. One other point: I think the debates will be more important than usual. Hillary clobbered Barak in the 2008 debates-- a point Barak has made, himself, and which was obvious to people like me who liked both candidates. I think Hillary will win the debates with Bernie, and just wait until all the social activist young Iowa Democratic voters get a chance to hear Bernie “explain” why he just happens to vote with the NRA, while Hillary has taken the risk of NRA opposition her entire career. I think the numbers will shift after those debates.
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The more credible candidates that are included in the debates the better. We need to see and hear not only Sanders challenge Clinton, but also, Biden, O’Malley, Webb and Lessig – and whomever else may jump in . If she makes a strong showing and still dominates the field, then her nomination will finally start to seem like an authentic representation of the democratic electorate – not just an inertia candidate.
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rssrsi, you missed the point. Bernie has been saying the same over and over and over for 40 years. And he’s not going to change to make the rabble happy.
He’s still right. Nobody else can fix it. He’s our last chance.
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Democratic women know this is the opportunity to finally break the ultimate glass ceiling, and for that reason and many more I support HRC and will work for her campaign when she becomes the nominee.
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The link to the article should have been included, because it contains a very noteworthy mention of why people support Bernie.
But the love for Sanders runs deep, the poll shows. Selzer noted that 39 percent of likely caucusgoers say their feelings about Sanders are very favorable, with another 34 percent saying mostly favorable. Only 8 percent have a negative view of Sanders. Contrast that with Clinton: Fewer feel very favorable about her (27 percent), and twice as many view her negatively (19 percent). Still, she’s doing better than in fall 2007, when she was viewed negatively by 30 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers.
Poll respondents say they’re wild about Sanders because of his authenticity, refusal to run a negative campaign and his big ideas, which include government-paid college tuition and health care for all.
Bitly short link to article: http://dmreg.co/1JDQMwR
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Because everybody has a landline.
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Hmm, this article doesn’t mention the other poll taken at the same time which shows Clinton ahead 50% to Bernie’s 20%. It also doesn’t mention that of the four polls this month, three show Hillary above 50% with Bernie 20-30% behind. It also doesn’t mention this was a three way poll measuring 1,2,3 preferences with Joe. The headline should have read “Probable Outlier Shows Sanders Somewhat Close to Clinton in unlikely three way matchup with Biden”
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Key takeaway:
In this cycle, Sanders is attracting more first-time caucusgoers than Clinton. He claims 43 percent of their vote compared to 31 percent for Clinton. He also leads by 23 percentage points with the under-45 crowd and by 21 points among independent voters.
That is big news for Sanders. If he gets the young first time caucus goers it is a big score. Remember, “voting” at the caucus is a public affair with no curtains to hide behind. In 2008 Obama found out that when young people go to the caucus they tend to bring friends and those friends all vote together.
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the political center is by definition the halfway point between left and right. Currently Republicans are putting forward candidates that are far right. Democrats put forward center-left candidates.
Since neither party will completely run the table, there will need to be negotiations. When the start point of these negotiations start with Democrats putting forward centre-left policies, and the Republicans putting forward far-right policies the political centre is skewed right.
This, I believe is why A Bernie Sanders nomination is good for the party. I believe policies that are more left are actually more popular and help more people. I believe that selling this point to the voting public is not as unrealistic as some think.
At the very least a competitive primary with a strong left voice is good for the party and will make for a better nominee, whomever that may be.
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They pulled the list from the voter registration list from the Secretary of State and used the phone number listed on it.
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Um, no, this indicates Bernie will likely do worse than the poll indicates because many people who say “I’m gonna vote for the first time ever” don’t. Even Obama, with his legendary community organizing lost many first time voters. Sanders does not have and cannot have the same organization because he does not have and cannot get the money needed to fund such efforts.
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They both have a good ground game, so this will be interesting. I like them both, but I am perfectly happy that Bernie is doing the hard work of pulling the pendulum back from its rightward position in the democratic party. For that reason alone it is worth supporting him in the Primaries. If he should lose the Primary, I have not lost anything by voting for Hillary in the general, an improved Hillary thanks to Bernie.
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Okay, I’m seventy-one, and with Bernie Sanders I’m finally hearing someone who sounds like the Democrats of my youth, back when Democrats were actually worth a damn.
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We should be happy there is even a mention of the democratic primary here as opposed the republican primary. Dems can’t let it be 100% the clown show, we need to show the contrast between the absurd and ready to govern (both Bernie and Hillary are ready)
I too hate incomplete headlines purposefully creating a narrative. That said in this case while perhaps overstated, there is something there.
Bernie is showing at the very least not to be a novelty candidate. That is news when Hillary has been considered so formidable and presumed to have it wrapped up before it starts.
Its good for the party. The party needs the left of the party as much as the center, or any other subgroup within the democratic coalition. Every part needs its moment to get excited to bring the entire coalition out next November.
Sure the media needs its horse race narrative, that will always cut against a front-runner. It will happen in the general 10x worse. If a coandidate can’t stand up to that within their own party primary and win, then they are likely to suffer the same going forward.
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