If America finds itself in the midst of a pandemic this fall, which candidate do you trust will be able to motivate people to risk their health and their lives to volunteer for the campaign and to get out and vote on Election Day?
As the coronavirus is spreading fast and Trump is relying on “a miracle” to stop it, I think this is an important question. And I think there is only one answer: Bernie Sanders.
As FiveThirtyEight reports, voters under 45 years old overwhelmingly support Sanders, and hardly any of them support Biden. And it is these very voters — the young, who are supporting a “movement” candidate — that are the kind of people who will be willing to knock on doors and go out to the polls even if our country is gripped with fear of a Spanish Flu-like plague.
I am 40 years old and I am personally willing to die for Bernie Sanders if necessary. I am not willing to die for Joe Biden. I am prepared to spend my weekends this summer and fall walking door-to-door, pressing germy doorknobs, exposing myself to thousands of people who might be carrying COVID-19 — but only if Sanders is the candidate. I will vote for Biden if he’s the nominee, but I can’t muster any passion for his candidacy; certainly not the kind of passion that would make me put my health at risk. Most young Democrats likely feel the same way.
Older people are more at risk from flu-like diseases, and tend to be more cautious in general than the “invincible” young — and it is older voters who are the core of support of Joe Biden. Do you want to risk the election on turnout by the very demographic group that will be the most strongly advised to stay in their homes during a coronavirus pandemic?
Trump voters — even the oldest and sickest among them — are going to turn out no matter what. Many of them would do anything for Trump, whom they view as something close to a messiah. They would crawl over broken glass, walk over hot coals, do whatever it takes to help him win reelection. They will be willing to risk their health and even die for him if necessary.
In the grip of a pandemic, the only way to beat Donald Trump is to run a candidate against him who can inspire the same kind of passion and commitment, so that voter turnout on our side will be just as strong. That candidate is Bernie Sanders.