Bernie Sanders can beat Trump [View all]

[Uncle Joe]

When trying to guess which candidate will be strongest against Donald Trump in 2020, you would be equally well-served by a dowsing rod, Ouija board, tea leaves, or deck of tarot cards as you would by the informed judgment of cable news pundits or political reporters. Yet polls show the Democratic primary electorate, apparently still scarred by Trump's surprise win in 2016, are attempting cast their own political yarrow stalks by lining up whoever has the best chance to win next year.

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Polls are obviously rather fluid at this early stage in the election cycle, but they're also the only data we have on how candidates would stack up against Trump in a head-to-head race. They have consistently shown Sanders ahead of Trump by about 5 points (while former vice president Joe Biden is ahead by about 8 points). Sanders' approval rating has also been consistently in the mid-50s, with disapproval in the high 30s. That is far, far better than either Trump's or Hillary Clinton's numbers in 2016.

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The point is that despite his shocking come-from-behind victory and awful carnage he has inflicted as president, Donald Trump is eminently beatable. Yet the Democratic base seems to be stuck in a terrified crouch, desperately playing amateur pundit to deny Trump a second term by any means necessary — as Biden supporters tell reporters. (Why anybody would trust pundit-style prognosticating, professional or otherwise, after that backfired disastrously in 2016 is beyond me, but that's a topic for another article.)

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America very badly needs a president who is not just another establishment stooge in thrall to plutocrats to undo the damage of Trump and 30 years of neoliberal corrosion. Turning back the clock to 2015 is not remotely good enough. America needs a stubborn, aggressive fighter, someone who will be as determined in protecting immigrants, minorities, and the poor as Trump is in harming them. Bernie Sanders could be that president — and all available data suggests he would be basically as strong as Biden against Trump. All Democratic voters have to do is shake off the Pundit Brain and go with the candidate whose record matches the party's stated values.

https://theweek.com/articles/858705/bernie-sanders-beat-trump