We have been hearing stories about Bernie bros in social and corporate media since the the Democratic primaries for the 2016 election. However, there has rarely been video evidence supporting the extreme stories we have been told on the internet. Yes, there have been trolls, Russians, and a smattering of young male Bernie supporting zealots who have written stupid and obnoxious things on the internet, but no one ever caught a Bernie bro on cell phone video taking over a caucus. Here’s a video of a “Bernie bro” caught in the act in Vegas posted to Twitter.
Even Tiger Beat on the Potomac (aka Politico) has gotten into the act: www.politico.com/…
Sanders wasn’t supposed to be able to break through with black and brown voters, but the group was racially and ethnically diverse. (Sanders won 27% of African Americans and 53% of Hispanics across the state.) The Sanders movement is supposed to be limited to those crazy college kids who don’t remember socialist as a slur. But there were plenty of older Sanders backers at the Bellagio chanting “Bernie” along with their 20-something comrades. (Sanders won every age category in the state except Nevadans over 65, which he ceded to Joe Biden.)
The best thing I ever said to the owner of this site (Markos) was that he needed to hire an Hispanic writer to cover immigration issues. Yes, I put kos on the spot when we had the great DK community get together in Asheville, NC. Fortunately, kos listened and improved this place. Gabe Ortiz has done a magnificent job covering immigration and Latin issues and I thank kos for bringing him here. We have all learned from Gabe about the horrors of the Trump prison camps at the border.
But despite the horrors of Trump’s concentration camps, hope is more powerful than fear. As an older American who voted for George McGovern in the year I turned 21, I fear the Swift Boating and red baiting that is sure to come if Sanders wins the Democratic nomination. I support Elizabeth Warren because she is brilliant, effective and has the talent to heal the wounds in our Democratic party. However, I have to respect the courage and the wishes of young Latinas who put hope before fear and won’t be intimidated by Trump’s campaign of terror directed at young immigrant families.
Bernie’s huge win in Nevada has “busted” memes and myths that Bernie had a narrow base of support from young white males. I have looked at the data and I am facing the facts that Warren is a great candidate but she needs to expand her base beyond the educated professional demographic that I belong to. She needs to persist because we need her voice in the race, and she needs to be there if anything bad happens to Bernie, but I can see that Bernie has the message that has reached our hopeful young Democratic voters. Again from Politico:
But the Sanders victory still exploded a lot of myths. He was said to have a ceiling of 30% or so. Remarkably, against a much larger field of candidates Sanders is poised to come close to the same level of support as he did in 2016 in a one-on-one race against Hillary Clinton, to whom he lost 47%-53%. (He was at 46% with a quarter of precincts reporting as of this writing.) He was said to be unable to attract anyone outside his core base. But he held his own with moderate voters (22%) and won across every issue area except voters who cared most about foreign policy, who went with Biden.
All of this makes the results of the Nevada caucuses, which in the past have not been treated with the same importance as the contests in the three other early states — Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina — matter more this year. They have helped settle lingering questions about Sanders' appeal.
Nevada was the first state in our primary season that had a large population of people of color so the voters may again change our perspective on the candidates, but Bernie’s win in Nevada was nothing short of a landslide that makes him the strong favorite to win the nomination. Warren’s destruction of Bloomberg in the Nevada debate proved that he is woefully short of charisma and the the intellectual necessities to win a presidential election. Joe Biden lacks the stamina to make it to the second half of a debate. He should gracefully retire and spend more time with his family. Mayor Pete lacks experience and he had no support from people of color. Klobuchar has no money, a tiny campaign apparatus, and little support outside of her region. She is already a non-factor.
The fact is that Warren is an excellent candidate that appeals to our heads but Bernie’s message has reached people’s hearts. I will feel good if Elizabeth takes the VP slot so that she can step in if the time ever comes for her to carry on for him. Warren in the VP slot would do a lot to relieve my concerns about Bernie’s age and health.