Look, any Bernie supporters want to declare victory and get out, I am more than willing to give ’em a big hand on their way. Even better, should the more realistic ones choose to actually become Democrats, I’ll give ’em a second chance to show that they’re willing to do the hard work of winning voters, not just stanning a celebrity. From Politico (so: whole shaker of salt), “Bernie 2016 alums wary of 2020 sequel”:
… With the Vermont senator kicking off a nine-state tour on Friday with stops in Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and California, a sizable contingent of the people who helped build his insurgent 2016 campaign is ambivalent about a second run, according to interviews with more than a dozen former staffers. Many of them are looking for a different progressive champion to finish what Sanders started.
Sanders should just declare victory, they said, content in the knowledge that much of his 2016 platform has been adopted by other ambitious Democrats considering White House bids. Plus, he’s a white man who would turn 80 in his first year as president, who’d be trying to lead a diverse party fueled by the energy of young voters, women and people of color.
“I think that if a younger candidate can pick up the mantle and have Bernie’s support, I think that would be a better option for 2020. I feel like 60 to 70 percent of former staffers are looking around for another Bernie-esque candidate this time around, even if it’s not him,” said Daniel Deriso, a field organizer for Sanders’ 2016 campaign who went on to help run a successful insurgent mayoral campaign in Birmingham, Ala., last year. “But if Bernie called me to have me work on the campaign then I’d do it.”…
Enough fervent supporters — from the 2016 campaign’s top officials to field organizers — are wary of a 2020 run that it could be difficult to reignite the 2016 movement. Jeff Weaver, who managed the 2016 race, has been talking about the idea of a “Draft Bernie PAC” of sorts after the midterms. But many supporters have been noncommittal, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions…
A common frustration among former staffers is that they feel Sanders and his tight circle of aides have taken their support for granted and failed to keep their 2016 team cohesive, which would have been an inherent advantage in a second run.
Multiple former staffers said that the Clinton campaign alumni network is far more connected and active than Sanders’…
“He’s the grandpa of the movement,” said another campaign worker from 2016, “but that might not make him the best choice for 2020.”
So… People who want an actual career working in politics have accepted their loss and are calculating their next moves. Tad Devine is lying low, waiting for Robert Mueller to wrap up his various investigations. Jeff Weaver wants to get the band back together — but being the Media Village Idiot’s “More Virtuous Than Thou” Gadfly is pretty much a one-man enterprise. Just look at the latest performance reviews for its most famous modern exemplar:
Ralph Nader is on my TV ripping Democrats and saying that Michael Fcking Bloomberg will "shake up" the Democratic Party.
Please go away 18 years ago.— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) October 15, 2018
Leaving aside Nader's political history, my beef with his analysis — it's been the same for years — is that he kind of wades in to the final stretch of an election, asks why Dems aren't "landsliding" Republicans, and ignores what they've been running on.
— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) October 16, 2018
ME: Fuck Ralph Nader!!
THEM: You can't blame him for Al Gore losing! He just told the truth!
NEWS: Nader endorses Mike Bloomberg 2020.
THEM: FUCK RALPH NADER!
https://t.co/dUomTxYHdz— Eric Schmeltzer (@JustSchmeltzer) October 16, 2018
(If Nader is hoping / expecting Bloomberg to throw him a bone, or a paid consultancy, he must really be desperate. Mayor Mike has been content to let the Horserace Pundits do his testing-the-candidacy-waters media for free, all these years; I seriously doubt pity, or excitement at Nader’s celebrity, will loosen his pursestrings at this point.)
Friday Morning Open Thread: Let Them Call It A Win, If It Stops the Argument…Post + Comments (205)