I've been reading lots of diaries on Kos about the relative merits of candidates and of course that includes Hillary and Bernie Sanders. (I am not including Elizabeth Warren here because I sincerely believe she is NOT interested in running this cycle and I also believe she is a very powerful force right where she is. I would also argue strongly that suggestions she accept a VP slot with Hillary would be a giant waste of her talents. That said, I hope any debate this generates will focus on the main topic of Bernie Sanders and not get diverted.)
So now Democrats are starting a delicate (and already sometimes heated) waltz and I began to wonder. Just how strong is Bernie Sanders as a Democratic Presidential candidate and how much strength does he have with the progressive Kos audience?
There are lots of different ways to measure Kossack support for Bernie, but one of the most obvious and absolutely critical right now, is money....the mother's milk of politics....
Bernie has far less of it than most of his rivals on both sides of the political fence but that doesn't necessarily doom him initially. He's gotten some good early funding surges, but moving forward, he is going to need bigger support.
So follow me below the squiggle for the lead-in to our poll:
We're in the early stages right now.
Hillary is obviously the strong favorite and has strong numbers and early bucks.
O'Malley has just announced, but has low numbers, due in part of course to being a candidate with slim national recognition.
Bernie has announced, he has gotten early support numbers that already put him ahead of virtually every GOP candidate in the race or considering running, and he is just getting started. To really succeed, Sanders is going to HAVE to have money, but from his vantage point, the more he can raise from grass roots small donors, the more it would help his campaign and establish a sharp contrast with the massive donations being made to many other candidates by a very small number of donors.
And it also appears that, while LOTS of voters know very little about him, other than media labels like "socialist" or "rumpled," when they actually see him and/or hear what he has to say and how he answers questions, a lot of eyes are opening. His message is resonating and NOT just with Democrats. But do Kossacks think Bernie can win the nomination and a national election?
So....let's see where you stand right now...are you in or out for Bernie as far as your stance on his potential electability and your financial support?
