I understand at the offset that this post won’t be popular…but that’s okay; that’s what free speech is all about. Progressives, Bernie can’t and won’t get close to winning and here are five reasons why:
1. He’s not special and can only move a small swat of progressives primarily on corporate/economic type issues. He’s never moved the ball on domestic/social issues and his rhetoric only appeals to the faithful few. Yes, I said “faithful few” because we’ve seen the big progressive crowds in Madison before when we tried to dump Lying Scott Walker but the quiet majority won the day.
You see, Bernie’s supporters are loud—just as Palin’s were but we all knew she could never win. I remember these early Palin days:
Mike Tucker, a local fire marshal, estimated 60,000. But reporters on the ground, including AP's Brendan Farrington and my colleague Ken Vogel, would only say "tens of thousands," suggesting the marshal's estimate was on the high side. The St. Pete Times's Adam Smith had another fire official in the crowd say it was about 25,000. http://www.politico.com/...
2. Bernie’s is only progressive in certain areas. Before he started running for president, he was all guns all the time. From Slate:
But before liberal Democrats flock to Sanders, they should remember that the Vermont senator stands firmly to Clinton’s right on one issue of overwhelming importance to the Democratic base: gun control. During his time in Congress, Sanders opposed several moderate gun control bills. He also supported the most odious NRA–backed law in recent memory—one that may block Sandy Hook families from winning a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the gun used to massacre their children.
http://www.slate.com/...
Bernie could have been the chair of the NRA with his gun history. Perhaps you can ignore that…I can’t.
3. Sorry guys, Bernie will never get beyond his self-described label as a "Socialist." Any candidate in either party can open-up a barrage of socialist ads on him that will make even his staunchest supporters give pause. Remember, we’re not talking “policy,” we’re talking politics. We haven't see the attacks yet---but trust me; they are coming.
4. Bernie is out-of-touch with the African-American community. And even though he participated in some civil rights sit-ins in the 60s, he’s not "special" to the African American and Hispanic American communities.
Ask me how I know.
Because I was one of Minority Outreach leaders-- first for Gore with Moveon.org; then twice for OFA for Obama. The same Souls-to-the-Polls activists who marched across Florida from the urban Liberty City sprawls in Miami to every pocket of the I-4 Corridor from Tampa to Orlando are not impressed with Bernie.
Why?
5. We don’t see Bernie as “pure” on minority issues as he is on Wall Street. We’re the activists in the minority communities with hundreds of churches who are waiting to be unleashed.
Folks, I can tell you now, that Bernie’s not the one. He could have gotten a lil attention in Charleston but he “phoned” it in when the whole black community was watching.
Bad move.
Sure he might gin-up Sarah-like excitement for a moment, but the quiet majority will never get on board with him.
I can’t, I won’t. I'm with Hillary.
I know many of you don’t share or agree with me but I appreciate you reading my thoughts.
See new thread.