Why Clinton can't win and Sanders can.
FEBRUARY 23, 2016
UNLESS THE DEMOCRATS RUN SANDERS, A TRUMP NOMINATION MEANS A TRUMP PRESIDENCY
by NATHAN J. ROBINSON
Democrats need to seriously and pragmatically assess their strategy for defeating Trump. A Clinton run would be disastrous; Bernie Sanders is their only hope.
With Donald Trump looking increasingly likely to actually be the Republican nominee for President, it’s long past time for the Democrats to start working on a pragmatic strategy to defeat him. Months of complacent, wishful insistences that Trump will disappear have proven false, and with a firm commanding lead in polls and several major primary victories, predictions are increasingly favoring Trump to win the nomination. If Democrats honestly believe, as they say they do, that Trump poses a serious threat to the wellbeing of the country and the lives of minority citizens, that means doing everything possible to keep him out of office. To do that will require them to very quickly unite around a single goal, albeit a counterintuitive one: they must make absolutely sure that Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee for President.
The electability question should be at the center of the Democratic primary. After all, elections are about winning, and high-minded liberal principles mean nothing if one has no chance of actually triumphing in a general election. Hillary Clinton has been right to emphasize that the pragmatic achievement of goals should be the central concern of a presidential candidate, and that Bernie Sanders’s supporters often behave as if this is immaterial.
Instinctively, Hillary Clinton has long seemed by far the more electable of the two Democratic candidates. She is, after all, an experienced, pragmatic moderate, whereas Sanders is a raving, arm-flapping elderly Jewish socialist from Vermont. Clinton is simply closer to the American mainstream, thus she is more attractive to a broader swath of voters. Sanders campaigners have grown used to hearing the heavy-hearted lament “I like Bernie, I just don’t think he can win.” And in typical previous American elections, this would be perfectly accurate.
But this is far from a typical previous American election. And recently, everything about the electability calculus has changed, due to one simple fact: Donald Trump is likely to be the Republican nominee for President. Given this reality, every Democratic strategic question must operate not on the basis of abstract electability against a hypothetical candidate, but specific electability against the actual Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
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Re: Why Clinton can't win and Sanders can.
It's always good to read a well-considered opinion such as this one, though I disagree with it's conclusion.
The premise that only Sanders can defeat Trump is a fantasy. Neither of these candidates has the global or national expertise and relationships to successfully lead our country. And yeah, I like Bernie!
Think about it, folks. Just think.
Sign me...
pragmatic, hopeful, and Gyosey
Re: Why Clinton can't win and Sanders can.
Reread the article.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by gypsey:
It's always good to read a well-considered opinion such as this one, though I disagree with it's conclusion.
The premise that only Sanders can defeat Trump is a fantasy. Neither of these candidates has the global or national expertise and relationships to successfully lead our country. And yeah, I like Bernie!
Think about it, folks. Just think.
Sign me...
pragmatic, hopeful, and Gyosey
