All the political journalists had left them for dead from the word, "Go." Interesting, perhaps, but no more than a speed bump on the way to the
real nominating process.
But now Trump has the GOP by the balls and Bernie is causing a stir in conservative havens like Arizona and Louisiana.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders drew a crowd of about 4,500 people to a rally in Kenner, Louisiana, on Sunday, his campaign estimated, continuing his pattern of gathering enthusiastic audiences across the country.
While the audience at the Pontchartrain Center wasn’t the biggest the Vermont senator had seen, it was noteworthy in another way: A month earlier, Republican Governor Bobby Jindal drew a crowd of about 1,000 people to the same venue for his presidential campaign announcement, according to the Times-Picayune.
While that clearly says something about Jindal's lackluster following, it also speaks to Bernie's crossover appeal. Though Bernie's intent was really to keep red-state liberals engaged, it wasn't just progressives who took to his message. On MSNBC, commentator Genevieve Wood
told Ed Schultz that Bernie's message even struck a chord with some conservatives.
I actually did a conservative talk radio show in New Orleans today and a couple of people called them who went to go see Bernie Sanders when he was in Louisiana. And they found (him) refreshing and these were conservative Republican voters who just were surprised. I think part of it is, you know, a lot of the country has not known of Bernie Sanders.
Sanders has completely defied expectations, first in blue states, then in red states, and this week with his online surge of
100,000 house party attendees watching him simultaneously across the nation.
“Enough is enough,” Mr. Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate from Vermont, told his followers, listing grievance after grievance, from income inequality to the Citizens United ruling to the minimum wage to Sandra Bland. Then he called on them to act.
Meanwhile, Trump is making an entirely different type of mark on 2016. While Bernie is talking ideas, The Donald is tearing down everything and everyone.
For more on the dual candidacies, head below the fold.
Hillary Clinton is the "worst Secretary of State in the history of the U.S."
The country is in the crapper, but he'll "Make American Great Again."
We were swindled in the Iran nuclear deal because "we have the wrong group of negotiators who have led us to being totally out-negotiated."
But that's nothing compared to the lashing he's given to GOP candidates.
On Lindsey Graham:
"What a stiff."
On
Scott Walker:
"Wisconsin's doing terribly. First of all, it's in turmoil. The roads are a disaster because they don't have any money to rebuild them. They're borrowing money like crazy."
On
Jeb!:
“I'm not a big fan of Jeb Bush. The last thing we need is another Bush, believe me.”
The insurgent candidacies of Trump and Bernie have been an equally surprising phenomenon but their long-term impact will be entirely different. That's already reflected in the polls. Not only did Hillary Clinton eclipse all the GOP candidates in this week's national
PPP survey, Bernie Sanders—the socialist whom no one would vote for—also won quite handily.
We also tested Bernie Sanders against the leading Republicans in the state and he leads all of them as well- his advantages are 4 points over Walker at 40/36, 5 points over Bush at 42/37, 6 points over Rubio at 40/34, and 16 points over Trump at 48/32. On average Clinton leads that quartet of Republicans by 13 points compared to Sanders' average of 8 points for a 5 point disparity in their electability.
Got that? Trump—the GOP's break-out candidate—is trailing Bernie by a whopping 16 points nationally. In the same poll, Trump loses to Hillary by 18 points (51 to 33). In fact, he polled the worst of any of the GOP candidates nationally.
It is true that both Trump and Bernie are resonating—but Bernie is doing so both positively and broadly, while Trump is doing it both negatively and narrowly. And regardless of who wins the nomination on either side, the ripple effect being put in motion now is sure to have repercussions in the general election.