Tough Dem Choices
Sadly, Elizabeth Warren has dropped out of the race for president. Her supporters will now have a tough choice to make between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden.
Valid points have been made regarding Sanders’ lackluster legislative record. Biden, on the other hand, has a bad habit of claiming credit for every bill passed, every law signed, and every treaty negotiated. But when asked at a debate about President Obama’s policy of deporting 3 million immigrants Biden replied, I was Vice President! (so, don’t blame him). He can’t have it both ways.
Super Tuesday — Big for Biden:
(1) Bernie Sanders will say (as he did in 2016) that his opponent won in mostly southern states which Democrats have no chance to win In November. He’s right. However, Joe Biden outperformed him in virtually every demographic. This bodes well for Biden nationwide.
(2) Sanders claims the linchpin of his campaign is increased 18- to 35-year-old voter turnout. Rachel Maddow, a self-identified left-wing progressive, pointed out that turnout for this group was either stagnant or down on Super Tuesday.
(3) Biden would be a stronger positive influence for Democrats on “down ballot” races, such as Jaime Harrison’s attempt to unseat Sen. Lyndsey Graham in South Carolina.
Learn from the past:
(1) In 2016, Bernie Sanders had legitimate complaints about the role of super delegates. Hillary Clinton had 500 such delegates before the convention started. That gave her an insurmountable advantage.
(2) Sanders sulked and many of his supporters stayed home on Election Day or voted for a third party candidate, effectively throwing the election to Donald Trump. That must not happen again!
(3) Sanders tried but was unsuccessful in his efforts to eliminate super delegates from the nomination process. However, in a compromise, those delegates can not vote until the second ballot in 2020.
As of today, the delegate race is nearly a dead heat. Neither candidate is likely to have a majority at the convention. Whoever has the most delegates should be the nominee. At the last debate, Bernie Sanders was the only candidate who took this position. Of course, Sanders (and most pundits) thought it would be him. After Super Tuesday (and a changed political landscape), he reiterated that position in an interview with Rachel Maddow.
Worst case scenario:
Bernie Sanders arrives at the convention with the most delegates, but not a majority. The vote goes to a second ballot where Biden almost certainly wins with the help of super delegates. The Democratic Party is split down the middle. Without party unity, Biden would lose to Trump in November. Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders need to start talking about this now! There must be no second ballot. Put egos aside. Defeating Trump is the #1 priority.