Discussion: Sanders Campaign 'Still Assessing' Whether To Ask For Recount In Iowa

It its way this is a victory for Sanders because of what people seemed to think was his outsider status or maybe that was the whole point.

@albesure I posted this elsewhere earlier.

However, the San Francisco Bay Area has a larger population than Iowa and their largest city Des Moines has less voters than Fremont, a suburb to the east. California is far more diverse and yet its position in the primary season makes it irrelevant, and I can only wonder why Iowa came to have so much clout. Just because itā€™s always been first in the nation is no answer either.

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given the closeness. it is smart to ask for information at least.

Seems that the ā€œstill assessingā€ comment was a response to a question. At this stage, that is the only answer a surrogate should give.

Iā€™d be surprised if the
recount is really what they are seeking because, as has been noted, delegates arenā€™t the prize, itā€™s narrative.

If Bernie can shake loose participation numbers and show in areas with artifically low delegates, i.e. college towns (allotment based on 2014 election participation) that narrative can include a variation on ā€œwinning popular voteā€. His campaign is smart enough not to overplay that angle, should they be able to get that info.

(please donā€™t respond ā€œthere is no popular voteā€. I know this, but participation numbers must be available, and after the 2000 election (and 2012 U.S. house elections) Democrats generally dislike when winners or popular vote loses on process matters.

As such Iā€™d say it is not yet a misstep.

As do I - a very good job by our President under difficult circumstances created by members of the political opposition who do not have the best interests of our citizens on their list of priorities.

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You do know that most college precincts have a higher population density?

There really isnā€™t a ā€˜count,ā€™ either, since the candidateā€™s numbers in the Democratic caucuses are constantly shifting as the process goes on. Which is the point of the whole exercise. All that matters is the final count of viables, and that number is reached in the most open way imaginable. Transparent as Caspar the Ghost.

Yes, eyes on the bigger prize. Guide your young flock to sanity, not hatred of Hillary.

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The results were so close as to be a virtual tie. The way the DEMs run this caucus there is never going to be a verifiable totally accurate head count. It is what it is. Sanders did exceptionally well and will win in New Hampshire, his neighboring state. Clinton will likely take South Carolina. While Bernie has had tremendous support from very young voters, I think he will lose some of the young women to Hillary as the campaign heats up and more dialogue takes place, especially with the additional debates. As an older person I am inspired by Sanders but as a pragmatist I see his goals as insurmountable in our political process. Obama has accomplished a lot, but disappointed the very same type of voter Bernie attracts because the GOP in DC are bent on obstructing anything proffered from a Democrat. Clinton has fought them for decades and seems better positioned to take office even though she belongs to the system that needs changing. Sanders, I believe is harming himself by questioning the results. It is best to move forward. I would be saying the same thing if Clinton were complaining. Voters donā€™t like this kind of reaction. Just look at Trump today. He looks like a spoiled sore loser.

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yes. again:

What bothers me most is some of the Bernie supporters who sound more right than left. The hatred of Hillary displayed by the column of Facebookers running alongside the 538 real-time Iowa coverage had me picturing Bernie-turned-Kronos, devouring his children. Rather than bringing them in, this is the way to lose the election.

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By even bringing this up, when they are already splitting the delegates, it implies that there are some in the Sanders camp who are advancing the idea that she stole the caucus. Even as I personally like Sanders --and would support him if he were the nominee ā€“ I would feel very uncomfortable joining with the zealous crowd I see forming around him at this time. Its not just Bernie they love ā€“ its Clinton they hate. If Sanders fails to win the nomination ā€“ which is likely, he will have to convince his supporters to vote for Clinton ā€“ and he wonā€™t be able to do that if the meme that she is dishonest continues to be stoked within his campaign.

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Iā€™m guessing that a bunch of his campaign staff are not people who chose him because he is Bernie, but people who first tried to recruit Warren because she was not Hillary and then chose him for the same reason.

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Blame Jimmy Carter! :stuck_out_tongue: Or Hamilton Jordan if you prefer.

Iā€™m waiting for Jerry Brown to move our primary to early January just to annoy everybody, but elaborate on Carter and Jordan and their role.

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Including the booing of Hillary? His own peculiar kind of snarling nasty streak shows in the supporters.

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This is an awful mistake. Be gracious Senator Sanders and move on. You are going to win NH, so what is your problem? Enough already.

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Thus proving Sanders and his campaign has no clue about Caucuses. You cannot recount a caucus.

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Interesting comment. I think Hillary will gain a lot of momentum from the additional debates where she does extremely well and where she can point out where Bernieā€™s ā€œinspirationalā€ proposals are only that. What annoys me about Sanders is, as Barney Frank recently noted, everything he says about ā€œbreaking up the big banksā€ is already in Dodd-Frank. which Bernie disses.

I also dislike his truculence and his snarling at Hillary for being rightā€¦

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yes, and under represented as allotment is based on (notoriously)low midterm turnout.

this might just be the type on info Bernie is trying to drag out of the, party whoā€™s head is clearly trying to assist HRC.

I used to be a TA for an ecology prof. when I was a second year grad student. Several times, during the term, a student, generally pre med, would ask him to re grade a test. Heā€™d take it back, regrade it and return it to the student with a lowered grade and a note saying. ā€œAfter I reread your essay questions, they were worse than I thought.ā€

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So if they sit on their asses and donā€™t vote for Democrats (notoriously low midterm turnout), they still deserve to be counted as heavily in determining who the Democratic party runs as people who did actually turn out and vote Democratic?

The thing about higher population density is that itā€™s hell of a lot easier to caucus in the dorm dining room than to travel across country in the face of a storm in a more sparsely populated precinct. So a high Bernie turn out in the ā€˜popular voteā€™ might well reflect greater ease of voting on the part of college students rather than any markedly greater support for Bernie.

And, yeah, in another state I do know of a situation where the kids couldnā€™t be bothered to come vote in their dorm in the midterms.

In principle yes, but beside my point. I was saying that the caucus results leave a lot of info out. Sure, some delegates are going to be awarded, but the count is only an estimate as there are many stages before the final numbers are known (and weā€™ve all moved in by then). So seeking more info isnā€™t an unreasonable request on Bernieā€™s partā€¦

Not sure I buy this. The same could be said about cities, do we devalue their input?