Watching the queue of recently-departed Democratic POTUS candidates lining up to endorse Joe Biden, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Democratic party grandees have told the kids to get in line and support their preferred candidate.
This may look like horrible politics, but it will piss off Sanders supporters no end, and right now, the only two people who can energize young voters, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, are being pushed to the margins.
@gshevlin well I know where my vote is going tomorrow in Super Tuesday and it’s certainly not Biden. But at the same time, I think you’re right and I’m sad about it.
@catie @gshevlin
There's more of a case to be made that Warren is being pushed to the margins, which is odd because clearly the DNC feels that Bernie is there greater threat, and he should not get the nomination.
Bernie may be the most energizing of young voters right now, but they are unreliable, and not nearly enough for the Dems to win. They need the moderates, some of whom may have voted Trump last time. Bernie is far too left for those people.
Biden also locks up PA, and maybe MI, too.
@catie @gshevlin
Dem voters need to start thinking with their heads and not their hearts.
I am no big fan of Biden. He definitely has problems. But put him on a ticket with Harris, Buttigeg, or even possibly Warren, and that's the best chance of winning.
Bernie at the top of the ticket may not only hand Trump a second term, he will hurt down-ballot races.
It doesn't matter how much his staunch supporters like him. They aren't the group that will make the difference in the election.
@voltronic @catie My biggest fears are that Biden is seen as Way Too Old by anybody under 35.
Also, when Bernie failed to gain the nomination in 2016, I had several of his supporters insist to me that they would vote for Trump (I never found out if they actually did).
In 2000 I had people tell me they were voting for Nader because Gore was GOP Lite (the opposite problem to Bernie of course, but thwarted supporters can be pretty nihilistic if the mood takes them). My ex definitely voted Nader.
@gshevlin @catie
Those people calling him Way Too Old are probably supporting someone else who is even older. I wonder who that might be?
All these people you are describing are idiots.
Nader is a good lesson in how a candidate like that affects a general election. Sadly, many current "young voters" were not there to see it or don't understand what happened.
It's not their ages, it's their level of cognitive ability.
Joe forgot the opening words to the declaration of independence.
Joe might be electable but he should not even be eligible.
@voltronic @catie I am aware of the irony of Bernie being supported by young people.
The thing is, he talks their language. They think "socialist" is a hilariously failed attempt at a smear, which says more about the people trying it (and nothing good), and they like his messages about healthcare.