I Need To Write About Who Bernie Will Pick As VP, But I'll Do That Next Time

Yesterday, Bill Barrow at the AP ventured that Trump's midwestern wall is at risk. "The pendulum," he wrote, "could swing against Trump in the band of Great Lakes and Rust Belt states that delivered him to the Oval Office. Aided by a court-ordered redraw of congressional districts, Democrats will pick up at least a few seats in Pennsylvania. Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa each have multiple GOP House districts where Democrats have nominated competitive, if not favored, candidates. Republican governors in Wisconsin and Iowa are at-risk, and open GOP seats in Michigan and Ohio are toss-ups. Meanwhile, Democratic senators across the region are either favored or in re-election tossups-- but none are considered underdogs... Democrats have a younger, more liberal, and more diverse slate of candidates they believe can flip control of the House and reclaim several governor’s offices. Republicans, meanwhile, have doubled down on being the party of Trump."

Diverse? Yes. Younger? They could hardly not be younger than the fossils that dominate the Democratic congressional caucus today. More liberal? Nope. Totally not. Although there are certainly some candidate who were inspired by Bernie to run, the DCCC sabotaged most of them and inserted their own very corporate, very conservative candidates instead. Leave it to any random AP "reporter" to look at a list of Democratic candidates, all GOP-lite, that includes Blue Dogs Jeff Van Drew (NJ), Ben McAdams (UT), Brendan Kelly (IL), Max Rose (NY), Anthony Brindisi (NY), Paul Davis (KS), Xochitl Torres Small (NM), Gretchen Driskell (MI), MJ Hegar (TX), Ron DiNicola (PA), Dan McCready (NC), Kathy Manning (NC), and call it "more liberal." And then there are the neo-liberal, New Dems, owned by Wall Street and backed by the DCCC. They're not Republicans and they're anti-Trump... but, unless we've changed the meaning of the word "liberal," they're not that by any stretch of the imagination. And some are cringe-worthy, like payday lender lawyer Jason Crow (CO), former NRA poster child Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), former-- I suppose-- CIA operative Elissa Slotkin (MI), Mob-backed socialite Susie Lee (NV)... sure, real liberal.

For the last several months, Blue America has been urging progressives to contribute to Bernie federal campaign account, not because he needs money for his Senate reelection, but because everything that comes into that can be used in his 2020 presidential run. Those midwestern states that Hillary lost to Trump... those were states Bernie did so well in during the 2016 primaries... especially when you look at the county levels. Hillary kicked Trump's ass in Democratic strongholds like Milwaukee, Madison, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis-- straight across the Midwest. Those cities are filled with voters far too smart to fall for Trump's gaslighting. But what about the rural areas and small towns where Trump beat her and took those states? Those were areas where Bernie didn't just beat Hillary, but, in many, outperformed Trump as well. Like In Wisconsin. Kenosha County has been a blue collar blue bastion but Trump beat Hillary 36,025 (47.5%) to 35,770 (47.2%). But, look what had happened on primary day-- not at how Bernie beat Hillary, but how Bernie's 14,612 votes were significantly higher than Trump's 11,139 votes. All over Wisconsin, Michigan... the whole Midwest you find that. Even in West Virginia.

And, sure, there are a handful of loud Hillary dead-enders out there who feel they were somehow wronged and would rather see Trump win than Hillary, but they are noisy and few. Ignore them; poor fools and tools without even knowing they're doing the work of corporate interests. Yesterday, Amie Parnes reported at The Hill what we've known all year-- that Bernie is running in 2020. Our Revolution chairman: "I expect him to run. He’s probably the most popular elected official."

Sanders allies increasingly talk more confidently about the likelihood of a second presidential bid. Just a few months ago, the allies were more careful about his potential candidacy.  Jeff Weaver, who served as Sanders's campaign manager in 2016, said Sanders “is being very thoughtful about” whether he enters the ace.

“He's very focused on the question of beating Trump and putting a Democrat in the White House,” Weaver said. “And if he runs it's because he thinks he's the one to do it.”

Weaver added that he’s “convinced” that his former boss “is the strongest candidate.”

Sanders has a lot going for him if he does decide to enter the Democratic primary, political observers say. For starters, he would bring an infrastructure built during the 2016 election, and his die-hard supporters give him a base that would be the envy of many candidates in what is expected to be a crowded field.

He also seems to have momentum. Sanders has seen his brand of progressive politics take sway within the Democratic Party as reflected in policy and politics. A number of Democrats have latched on to his “Medicare for all” single-payer healthcare plan.

And while Sanders has backed some losing primary candidates, his allies have also pulled off some huge upsets, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s defeat of Rep. Joe Crowley in a New York Democratic primary, and Ayanna Pressley’s defeat of Rep. Mike Capuano in a separate Democratic primary in Massachusetts. Sanders scored another victory with Andrew Gillum’s win in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Florida.

Nonetheless, Sanders will face a lingering challenge in winning over former supporters of Clinton who remain stung by the 2016 battle.

A number of Democrats continue to believe that Sanders has divided the party, was partly to blame for Clinton’s defeat and should not be considered as a party candidate.

“Sanders can continue on his quixotic presidential campaign but NOT as a Democrat,” said former congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, who worked under Clinton at the State Department and served as a surrogate to the Clinton campaign in 2016.

“He’s completely using the party to serve his best interests,” one longtime Clinton aide added. “He’s a Democrat only when it’s convenient to be a Democrat.”

Ah, yes, Tauscher... someone wandered into the Graveyard of Political Corruption and dug up her fetid casket and dragged out her rotted carcass. When she served in Congress, she served corporations and big money interests-- only and always and in all ways. She was a New Dem chair who lived too collect Wall Street money. There's not a question in my mind that she would vote for Trump rather than Bernie. Think about that. This cycle she's been working to defeat progressives in California so that only corrupt conservative Democrats would be in the general election. Does she speak for Hillary? Probably. She's still bitter and blames everyone but herself but herself for a poorly-run campaign. Sanders endorsed her, campaigned for her and urged his followers to vote for her. Do you think she'll do the same for him? LOL!

Weaver, who said Sanders isn’t paying too much attention to polls as he considers another run, thinks the senator's independent status is a plus to a potential candidacy.

“If you look at the sentiment of the people, nobody wins the presidency with just the people in your own party,” he said. Sanders has “unique appeal” with independent voters, which he said is “an incredible strength.”

In his Senate reelection bid this year, Sanders ran as a Democrat but declined the nomination after he won the primary, only to run as an independent in the general election.

By doing this, Sanders prevented a Democrat from opposing him in November. He used the same political maneuver in the 2006 and 2012 Senate elections.

“A cynic might say the guy who complained about the rigging of the 2016 Democratic presidential primary is kinda, sorta, rigging the 2018 Vermont Senate race for himself,” journalist Aaron Blake wrote in the Washington Post in May. “It all suggests a guy who is still very much using the Democratic Party when it’s convenient for him.”

Sanders allies say he has to run as a Democrat in 2020.

“The way the electoral college system works, it would be very unlikely for anyone to win” as an independent, the Sanders ally said. “And because of the electoral college system, you could select Trump without the party.”

In 2016, the Democratic Party was accused of tipping the scales in Clinton’s favor and turning their backs on Sanders.

Asked if the party would support a Sanders candidacy during the primary, a Democratic National Committee official replied, “All candidates must meet the standards that are set forth in the Rules and Call.”

The rules, adopted in June, states that at the time a presidential candidate announces their candidacy publicly “they must publicly affirm that they are a Democrat. They also need to affirm in writing that they are a member of the Democratic Party, will accept the Democratic nomination and will run and serve as a member of the party.

The Sanders ally said if the senator does run for president in 2020, he will accept those conditions.

The ally added, “And he’ll be happy to help lead the Democratic Party and build it.”

Let's go for greatness this time, not just another mediocre president. Obama was cool, but the U.S. hasn't had a truly great president since FDR. I want to see one in the White House before I die. Please help me. And, for you're own sake, try to imagine a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate and Bernie and Elizabeth Warren as president and vice president.