Bernie draws thousands as 2020 decision looms

[left-of-center2012]

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Bernie Sanders can still draw a crowd.
“Now Trump, he’s a very, very tough guy,” Sanders told about 3,000 people in this college town. “He’s a very, very strong guy when he tears little children at the border from the arms of their mothers. What a tough guy. But he ain’t such a tough guy when he has to deal with Putin … He is not such a tough guy when he has to deal with his billionaire friends in Saudi Arabia, who just tortured and murdered a courageous journalist.”

The rally opened Sanders' nine-state blitz ahead of the midterms, with planned appearances in the early 2020 nominating states of Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina. But his first and last appearances, in Indiana and California later this month, are freighted with significance, as well: Sanders won the Indiana primary in an upset in 2016, and his prospects in 2020 would rely on a large delegate haul in California ...

Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ 2016 campaign manager and closest political adviser, said Friday that he does not know whether Sanders will run in 2020. By the end of his tour, Sanders will have visited 32 states since the 2016 election. He has raised about $1.8 million for fellow candidates, with that total to exceed $2 million by the end of the election cycle.

In addition to the three early nominating states that Sanders will visit, his tour will take him to Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Arizona, Colorado and California. The last stop is critical to his 2020 chances, with Sanders’ advisers believing the weeks he spent campaigning there in a losing effort in 2016 — effectively his last stand of the primary campaign — could pay off with a large delegate haul in 2020.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/19/bernie-sanders-2020-916368

[bearsfootball516]

1. I may not be his biggest fan, but the guy is well liked among college students.

And if he can help get college students to the polls, then by all means, I'm not going to argue. Nothing else other than Vietnam has been able to do that, so if he's found something that works, keep at it.

[lunamagica]

2. He didn't get them to the polls last time, why would it be different now?

[bearsfootball516]

6. He did, look at the numbers he put up with under-30 voters in 2016

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/20/more-young-people-voted-for-bernie-sanders-than-trump-and-clinton-combined-by-a-lot/?utm_term=.3769ca0997e6

I'm not saying he should run in 2020, I don't want him to. But he does have a certain appeal with young voters, and Democrats would be crazy to not take advantage of that with two and a half weeks left before midterms.

[lunamagica]

7. They weren't enogh to get him even close to the nomination, which he lost

by millions

[bearsfootball516]

9. That's correct, because all of the other age demographics come out much more reliably.

I'm not sure what your point here is, would you rather he not help and have fewer adults under 30 come out for midterms? Because that's how your making it sound.

[lunamagica]

10. My point is that crowds are meaningless. They didn't deliver the nomination for him the last time

[bearsfootball516]

15. They didn't, but it's better that they come out than if they don't.

If he can get 3,000-4,000 more college students out than usual, that’s great. It’s all hands on deck right now and it’s bettwr than not having any of them come out.

[lunamagica]

17. That depends. If they are for the cult of personality, a "bernie or bust" crowd...well they won't

help much.

[bearsfootball516]

26. Seems to be working pretty well at Indiana University today.

I'll say it again, I'm not his biggest fan. But college kids like him, and here's a video of a massive crowd of college kids literally following him as they walk to the polls to vote in midterms.

Link to tweet

[lunamagica]

31. Do you remember the HUGE crowds during he primary? Made

no difference when it came to electing him

[bearsfootball516]

32. Yet, again, you're deflecting.

This isn't about winning a primary. It's about getting young people to the polls for the most critical midterms we've ever seen. I gave you a Washington Post rundown about how many he was able to get out, and I just showed you a video with a huge crowd of college students following him to the polls to vote in midterms.

If you want Democrats to get fewer votes in midterms, that's on you. I want them to get as many as possible, using every resource imaginable.

[lunamagica]

33. No, you don't get it. The point is that crowds didn't make a difference, and don't get

young people to the polls. History proves that

[bearsfootball516]

35. I literally posted a video of a crowd of college students following him to their polling location.

[RhodeIslandOne]

40. We need all the help we can get

I did not vote for or support Bernie in the primary. But if he gets someone to vote in the midterms who wouldn't otherwise, I'm all for it. Swallow your negativity and be thankful for that.

We need EVERY vote. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

[Power 2 the People]

38. Go get em' Bernie!!!

[elocs]

29. I was in college during the latter years of the Vietnam war and we wildly supported McGovern

and delusionally believed there was just no way he could lose to Richard Nixon.
Bernie Sanders would be the George McGovern of 2020 and just as Nixon wanted to run against McGovern, Trump would love to have Sanders as his opponent in the presidential race.

[bearsfootball516]

39. I agree, I don't think he'd do well in a general election.

But in the midterms right now, if he can get college kids to the polls, go for it. We're all on the same side right now.

[LexVegas]

3. ...

[saidsimplesimon]

4. Don't shoot the messenger

My grandson works nearby and stops to visit on his way home, frequently, fortunate me.

I asked him during his last visit what he and his peers thought about this year's election and 2020. "Nothing has changed, Nana. Bernie is the reason men of my age (late 20's, early 30's) registered to vote and participated for the first time." I then reminded him that voting was a civic duty, not a popularity contest to win. He gave me that wise beyond his years look that conveyed a loving sympathy and profound disagreement.

Grandson is not a shallow man, he has values and apparently, as he reminds me, he will operate in the interests of those values. Bernie speaks to his generation. I am sure there are others in our party who know how to include those under 40 and represent their interests.

[grantcart]

11. Sorry but

I am sure that your grandson is a wonderful person.

Anybody who states that Bernie was the sole reason to register and vote is by definition politically shallow. I would extend that to anyone who registers on the basis of any single candidate including my favorite President Obama.

My youngest daughter is a wonderful person. She lights up the room when she walks in and everyone responds to her. She only votes because I have repeatedly brought it up, and she is happy afterwards but politically she is a very shallow person.

There are reasons to get excited and vote for a person.

There are also equally substantial and weighty reasons to go to a poll and vote against someone.

There was overwhelming data at the time of the election that Trump was dishonest, racist and autocratic. Anybody who is not shallow went to the polls and voted. His patronizing look wasn't wise beyond his years it simply included a world view that ignored what happened in Germany in the between 1939 and 1945 and the naïve assumption that those same forces don't happen here.

[lunamagica]

13. Ask your grandson if he doesn't wonder how Sanders, who was "the poorest senator" became

a millionaire who owns at least three homes in the last couple of years, and why he refuses to release his full tax returns.

Ask your grandson if the senator's lack of transparency doesn't bother him, especially when Sanders demands it from everyone else

[maxsolomon]

14. "Nothing has changed"?

Tell that to child refugees.

Your grandson is not going to get his pie in the sky. Ever.

He still needs to vote. That's what adults do.

[LisaM]

20. "Men" of his age?

I'm sure your grandson is lovely (he visits you, so he gets my vote!) but that seems to have a slightly misogynist twist to it. I'm not sure how to read that. Is he saying that men of his age only registered to vote because of a male candidate?

[saidsimplesimon]

22. You have a good point.

My intent was to describe what I believe fuels the group behind Bernie. I do not know any women of his age who have the same level of support for Bernie.

[LisaM]

24. Sadly, I think they were afraid to say whether they supported Hillary.

Oh well, 2016 is over, not in my heart, but in my head.

[ananda]

5. I will always like Sen Sanders!

And I will vote for him in any primary!

[WeekiWater]

8. GOTV

Forget if he’s running. His current worth is in getting out the vote. Nothing more. Let him keep stirring it up and ignore the MSMs talk about his possible future primary plans. We already have names being thrown around who will remove his stature as the leftist candidate. There are no longer concerns about his future. Only the present.

[maxsolomon]

12. He will be 79 on election day 2020.

God bless him, but he knows he's too old. It's Dems that don't, and the Press keeps baiting his voters.

[guillaumeb]

16. The "too old" label can be applied to many in both parties.

Ted Cruz is relatively young. So is Rand Paul. What counts is the message.

[oberliner]

18. 79 is not too old

[BlueStater]

19. A subjective statement, but it certainly is for me.

I do not want an 83-year-old president.

[oberliner]

23. How about Speaker of the House?

[maxsolomon]

25. yes, pelosi probably is too old to be speaker.

but women live longer than men IN GENERAL, hold together physically better than men IN GENERAL, and it's a 2-year position. i don't live in her district, so I don't get a say in whether she becomes speaker.

but president is 8 years, hopefully. specifically, we need a candidate who makes President Asshole look old, tired and fat. Bernie, with old-man finger-wagging, is not that person. the candidate with the most charisma wins.

is there ANY age at which you would say "probably wiser to let someone younger do that incredibly taxing job"? 80? 90?

[Blue_true]

34. Him and Biden appear to be in Good physical shape.

The socialist French President Francois Mitterand was 80 plus when he first won. He served 12 years and went through 3-4 mistresses (don't bash, it's France), before retiring.

[maxsolomon]

36. The exception does not prove the rule.

Sanders &/or Biden are a recipe for a second Trump term - both are OLDER than the Toxic Clown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_age

Please note the ages of the last 5 Dem presidents at election. Even LBJ was only 56 when he won his only campaign.

Kamala Harris is 53.

[BlueStater]

37. That's not true.

He wasn't over 80 when he was first elected. In fact, he didn't even live to be 80.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Mitterrand

[BlueStater]

21. Yeah, all those jokes about Reagan, Dole, and McCain being too old to be president?

Kind of biting us in the ass now.

Go away, Bernie. Good god.

[Bfd]

27. We need a Democrat as Speaker. Perhaps he can chair a committee.

Whatever, just VOTE BLUE.

[budkin]

28. Love Bernie, supported him in 2016, don't want him to run again

Come on Bernie, we need new blood here. You are better as a Senator.

[AlexSFCA]

30. he grew on me over time

as long as he can get young people stay involved. If he runs again in 2020 and loses primary then history will probably repeat itself. I’d imagine we’ll see Harris, Warren, Bernie and many others in 2020 primary. Harris will have broad appeal across generations and economic classes. And by the way, I still believe Hillary would have won had she chosen Sanders as her running mate instead of a man that nobody ever heard and who did nothing to gain more votes for her. At the very least, I hope in 2020 whoever the winner of the primary is, would swallow his/her pride and choose the runner up as a running mate. We have no margin for error.