Bernie Goes Bust

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I do not like Bernie Sanders. So it should come as no surprise that I am pleased his campaign is failing and reporters are starting to notice. I always thought the press corps overestimated his success in 2016. To be sure, some of it had to do with him, but a lot of it had to do with the fact any "left" candidate was going to draw some amount of protest vote (though the media also woefully misrepresented Hillary's positions, another story for another blog).

To my mind, Bernie would have been better off sitting out 2020 and having candidates lobby for his endorsement. It was apparent early on that a lot of big name politicians were going to run and many would have positions that were close to, if not to the left of him. The idea he would be able to maintain his support from 2016 and build out from there seemed unrealistic to me, but what do I know, I'm just some asshole blogging in his basement.

In any event, Bernie's best day was the day he announced because his polling is now in the toilet. For someone who started out as one of the front-runners for the nomination, had near universal name recognition, and a small donor base that was basically a license to raise money, the fact that he is struggling to garner just 15 percent of primary voters nationwide is telling. Most of his supporters have deserted him. In Iowa, a state where he basically fought Hillary to a draw, he is now polling at 9 percent in one poll, and 17 percent in another, and in both polls, he is at best in second place. In New Hampshire, a state he won with 60 percent of the primary vote, he is polling third. Nationally, Elizabeth Warren has passed him and he is drifting closer to the second tier.

Meanwhile, he is being outworked on the trail. He has been a lackluster candidate (one of my favorite nuggets was how he strolled around the Iowa State Fair for a half hour and did not talk to any voters) and has already been the subject of a dreaded leak about relaunching his campaign messaging. At the debates, he sounded like one of those one-hit wonder rock bands still belting out their one song years after it charted. Even the few members of Congress who endorsed him in 2016 have either abandoned him (Raul Grijalva) or are neutral (Jeff Merkley). Meanwhile, other members, like the vaunted “Squad” have not ridden to his rescue.

Much of this was predictable, but it just goes to show you Bernie's arrogance. He thought he could just run the same campaign he did in 2016 (right down to the logo, which he didn't bother updating!) and the nomination would be his. His slow slide into irrelevance will quicken once the primaries begin, at which point, I fully expect him to pull the same kamikaze routine he did in 2016, whine about a rigged process, then refuse to endorse the winner until right before the convention. And my reaction will be the same - fuck him.

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