Is Bernie The Frontrunner Now? Or Will The Right-Wing Newspaper In New Hampshire Deliver That State To Amy Klobuchar?

Amy Klobuchar by Nancy Ohanian

Over the weekend in New Hampshire, the Union Leader endorsed Amy Klobuchar for president. Good news? Well... maybe for her competitors. The Union Leader isn't just a Republican Party mouthpiece, it's one of the most notoriously conservative daily newspapers in the country. Democratic primary voters don't normally take election advice from a newspaper equivalent of Sean Hannity.

"If there is to be any realistic challenge to Trump in November," wrote the McQuaids, "the Democratic nominee needs to have a proven and substantial record of accomplishment across party lines, an ability to unite rather than divide, and the strength and stamina to go toe-to-toe with the Tweeter-in-Chief. That would be U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. She is sharp and witty, with a commanding understanding of both history and the inner workings of Capitol Hill. Trump doesn’t want to face her. He is hoping for Bernie, Biden, Buttigieg or Warren. Each has weaknesses, whether of age, inexperience or a far-left agenda that thrills some liberals but is ripe for exploitation in a mainstream general election. Sen. Klobuchar has none of those weaknesses."

No, her weakness-- and her consistent inability to gain any significant traction with Democratic voters-- is that she's conservative enough to please the Union Leader publisher and editor. Earlier today she was Chuck Todd's guest on Meet The Press, happily auditioning to be Biden's running mate by attacking Bernie with a lie about healthcare both of them robotically repeat. "I'm ready to support the winner, but I make a strong case here that if you look at how we've won in states like Louisiana and Kentucky and in Wisconsin, where we beat Scott Walker, or in Michigan, this is about candidates that reflected their states. I think Senator Sanders idea of kicking 149 million Americans off their current health insurance in four years is wrong." Please note the dead armadillo in the Nancy Ohanian graphic above. Also note the thermometer above, where you can contribute to the best candidate running for president, the one who can defeat Trump and make sure a Republican-lite Democrat, like Todd's guest, doesn't follow him into the White House.

The CNN poll of likely New Hampshire primary voters released this morning was taken before the Union Leader endorsement came out. Amy Klobuchar was polling at 6%, in fifth place, between Elizabeth and Tulsi. How many points will the Union Leader endorsement shave off her total? These were the totals and the momentum from the October CNN poll for each candidate:

• Bernie- 25% (up 4)
• Status Quo Joe- 16% (up 1)
• Mayo- 15% (up 5)
• Elizabeth- 12% (down 6)
• Klobuchar- 6% (up 1)
• Tulsi- 5% (flat)
• Yang- 5% (flat)
• Steyer- 2% (down 1)
• Bloomberg- 1%
• John Delaney- 0% (up 1)
• Michael Bennet- 0%
• Deval Patrick- 0%

The gains since October for most of the candidates came from two sources: the combined 8 points that became available after Kamala, Cory Booker, Beto and Joe Sestak dropped out. And 6 points that Elizabeth Warren lost after she waffled on Medicare for All and then attacked Bernie in a way no one by her die-hard supporters found remotey credible.





When asked which candidates they found most likable, Warren suffers more than any of the other candidates, although Deval Patrick is the candidate Democrats like least. Bernie may be absolutely hated by the millionaires that populate the MSNBC panels but apparently normal people aren't buying their venom:

• Bernie- 24%
• Mayo- 22%
• Status Quo Joe- 14%
• Yang- 11%
• Klobuchar- 6%
• Tulsi- 5%
• Elizabeth- 4%
• Tom Steyer- 1%
• Steyer- 1%
• Bloomberg- 1%
• eval Patrick- 0%

Democrats recognize that Bernie (50%) and Elizabeth (18%) are the two most progressive candidates and, despite his gaslighting bullshit to the contrary, almost all recognize that Status Quo Joe is not progressive at all-- never was and never will be. Biden came in 6th with just 3%-- behind Mayo (8%), Yang (7%) and Steyer (4%). Conservatives Michael Bloomberg, Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick all scored 0% on the progressive question. The Union Leader's favorite candidate, today's pathetic Meet the Press guest, scored 1%.