I think most voters don't pay as close attention as we do on this board. Biden was part of a time not so long ago when things were normal, even good. Don't discount the nostalgia factor.
Bernie's biggest liability is the Bros. They're on social media tonight putting heavy pressure on Warren to drop out of the race. I know they're not all his fans, but they leave an intensely bad taste in my mouth - much worse than anything I get from Biden, however lackluster he is.
That's my biggest issue with Sanders, actually. He seems to inspire an unpleasant and intolerant level of fervor in a very outspoken minority of his followers, and he hasn't done enough (IMO) to establish boundaries for acceptable behavior. Seeing what happened with Trump, when Republicans insisted that the "Red Hat Dudes" were just a fringe among his supporters, then seeing how they took over the entire GOP, it makes me nervous. To be fair, Trump's rhetoric was actively encouraging the bigotry, misogyny, and xenophobia of that group. I don't see Sanders doing the same thing, exactly. I expect he's more likely to see some of those dudes turning on him when he can't deliver every promise he's made, at least not in one term, and is forced to compromise in the interest on getting anything done at all. They seem to think he's a god, different from any other politician in that respect. I shudder to think what kind of political "outsider" those guys might transfer their adulation to.
But I am deeply suspicious of
anything that resembles a cult of personality with regards to politicians.
It's fascinating to me watching *some* of Bernie's supporters (I, of course, know it's not all of them) still insulting Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, etc. and then in the next breath ask their supporters to switch to Bernie. Where is the logic? That's not how you build a coalition. People are freaking out about these endorsements and saying that the DNC has rigged things and are cheating, which is insane. It's called strategy! But, I guess not everybody has that (clearly). I'm just having flashbacks to 2016.
Exactly. I get the impression that some of Sanders people hate the Democrats as much as they hate Republicans. I understand being most enthusiastic about him, if you are in favor of democratic socialism, and in being frustrated with the Democratic party's move to the center on economic issues. I share that frustration. But FFS, if they can't see that there's a gradation there, and that even "moderate" democratic candidates are a heck of a lot closer to what they allegedly want than any of the Republican candidates, they need to wake up.
