Bernie has to suspend.

[boston bean]

People are not going to put up with his attacks on the party of which he is running on their ticket.

We are in a fight against evil and we are the good guys. He does not have a path and we cannot play into his vanity.

If he does not, I suspect DNC will cancel debates. Debates will do nothing to change the fact that he will not be the nominee.

He needs to reckon with this and help to get his supporters to help Joe. The longer he remains the longer people will have sour grapes. Bernie attacking the good guys for another 3 months will do nothing but entrench his supporters against the enemy. The enemy in their minds is not Trump, but the “democratic establishment”.

It must end and end soon.

[USALiberal]

1. No, he does not. nt

[boston bean]

2. Yes he does.

[USALiberal]

3. Nice try! nt

[boston bean]

4. Excellent try, and the truth.

[USALiberal]

5. Is these some DNC rule I don't know about? nt

[boston bean]

6. Maybe.

[zackymilly]

21. If I add 'to infinity' you are done! n/t

[dubyadiprecession]

9. Your a Biden supporter and you didn't see the lasting damage he did to our nominee in 2016??

[USALiberal]

10. I changed from Warren. Bernie can decide on his own, just like Pete and Warren did. nt

[dubyadiprecession]

26. You didn't answer the last part of my question.

[MrsCoffee]

27. That would require integrity and selflessness that he doesn't possess.

He will need to be pulled off the stage with a vaudeville hook.

[USALiberal]

29. Classy! Nt

[MrsCoffee]

32. Embarrassing really.

We have a chance to unite the country NOW.

No time for Sanders games.

[dubyadiprecession]

34. I'm glad someone said it.

[pampango]

39. If he suspends on March 18 instead of March 12 will that 'restore' his honor and integrity

in your eyes? Or do 6 days represent an unforgivable delay?

Sanders was the perceived ‘front runner’ on the morning of February 29 and Biden’s back was against the wall (actually a firewall) in SC after 4 poor performances. Sanders supporters had visions of success.

Biden has done spectacularly well since then. He will win. Sanders will lose. Give his supporters some time to adjust. The vast majority will. Biden is not bashing Sanders. He knows what he is doing.

No matter what happens at the debate it looks like Sanders will get trounced next Tuesday. I think he will suspend then. If he doesn’t suspend then he will lose my support.

[djg21]

24. He needs to suspend his campaign and cancel the debate

Biden is the nominee for all practical purposes. The last thing we need before the general election is to have Bernie launch broadsides against Bernie from the left flank (Just like he did against Hillary).iff he stays in the race, the only thing he can do now is go for Biden’s jugular during the upcoming debate. That can only weaken Biden at a time when the entire party needs to get behind him and shore him up in advance of the general election in November. There should be more debates; no more attack ads; and no more criticism from Sanders. In fact, it’s time to focus on the prize, which is the Whitehouse and the Senate. Bernie should pack it in ASAP.

In regard to the Senate, when should we expect Sanders to commit to serving in the Senate as a Democrat rather than as an Independent? Given that Sanders ran in the Democratic Presidential primary, it’s not too much to ask or expect him to serve as a Democrat in the Senate going forward. If he declines or he refuses to do so, he should go fuck himself and we should find a strong Democratic candidate to run against him in 2024.

[Happy Hoosier]

7. He should, but we'll see. NT

[helpisontheway]

8. I don't care if he suspends but he better stop attacking our "probable" nominee unless

he wants his legacy to be assisting Trump re-election.

[emmaverybo]

11. I think it's up to Bernie. Voters will feel they have not been heard if he is forced out. But he and

supporters need to start acting responsibly.

He won a few contests in states that do not resemble
the whole of America. Joe was up to that point the frontrunner and has regained that status. Most
likely, he will be our nominee.

Bernie should come out strongly against desperate smears such as Sam Seder went on television
to echo. Stick to policy differences. Join in attacking Trump, not the party, not the voters.

[former9thward]

41. "He won a few contests in states that do not resemble the whole of America"

He won in the biggest state of the country, California. But I guess that does not resemble the country...

[emmaverybo]

47. I meant at the time Biden was, as a result, counted out. I am aware he won CA.

[The Magistrate]

50. Two Thirds Of California Democrats Voted Against Him, Sir

One third of a four candidate field, with a tenth of the vote going to persons who had withdrawn, making 'not running anymore but still' into effectively a fifth candidate in the field, is hardly a sweeping triumph. In a two candidate field, the result would have been quite different. He would have been crushed two to one, as he has been most other places.




"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

[former9thward]

54. So what?, 72% of California Democrats voted against Joe Biden

You may wish to look up how elections are determined to be a win or loss in this country.

[The Magistrate]

55. The Point, Sir, Is Whether That Result Indicates Mass Support For Sanders

The numbers indicate it did not, and does not.

Whether Sanders is in a crowded field or a head to head contest, he garners about a third of the votes. This makes his a distinctly minority position even within the Democratic Party. The idea that there is some great reservoir of unaffiliated persons who pine for 'democratic socialism' is moonshine. Persons inclined towards a left view support the Democratic Party already, save for a small proportion of persons sufficiently radical that they view the Democratic Party as a right wing body. People actually on the right laugh at this, but find such persons useful in a variety of ways.




"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

[SlogginThroughIt]

12. He needs to set his ego aside.

Suspend. There is no path forward and he is a senator. Time to go back and do the job that he WAS elected for. The people voted and it has been a resounding rejection.

[sellitman]

13. Bullshit

He is not far off in delegate count and anything can happen. Joe was left for dead once. Bernie can rise.

His plank beats Joe's 20 ways to Sunday. I am all in.

[LexVegas]

14. ...

[lark]

17. Will you VBNMW?

If so, that's ok. If not, shame on you for helping drumpf.

[sellitman]

25. Don't insult me

I've been here too long and seen too much. I am a Democrat and will vote so in the General. I've held my nose before.

[zackymilly]

23. LOL nt

[TwilightZone]

30. Sanders is forecast to lose every race left in the campaign except one or two.

He lost Michigan, a state key to any possible comeback. Not only did he lose MI, he lost every county in MI.

The race is over. He just hasn't made it official yet.

[MrsCoffee]

33. Bernie Math.

Again.

Stubbornness to the nth degree.

[Todd79]

15. I don't care

I don’t care if he continues as long as he puts a muzzle on the attack dogs. If he likes Joe Biden as much as he says he does, you can use the debates to highlight how your plan will benefit the electorate instead constantly cherry-picking Biden’s past votes and blasting him.

[lark]

18. He will not call off the attacks, they will get worse as he gets more desperate.

It's ugly and unseemly and he will not own it.

[Todd79]

20. I don't disagree

[Dem2]

19. I thought they reported that he was going to today or tomorrow?

MSNBC showed a tweet from an 'insider' connected person?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

22. Do something different than he did in 2016 -- when we had an even smaller deficit of votes behind

the front runner? Huh. What could possibly be different this time around?

[snowybirdie]

28. Do all you folks realize

that you're again finding something to fight about? First it was between 22 candidates, then between Warren, Bernie and then Bernie and Biden. Now, your fighting with each other about when Bernie needs to drop out of the race. Please folks, we are in this fight together! Let's be kinder to each other, control your rage and fight like hell against that orange menace currently in the WH. Vote Blue, no matter who! Peace and love to all.

[still_one]

31. Doubtful that will happen

[Devil Child]

35. I don't believe he does

Nor do I believe you would call for Biden to suspend if the roles were reversed.

I would love to see Sen. Sanders continue to the convention and use it to advance his message.

[NYMinute]

43. It's the "map"

If the roles were reversed, Biden still had a chance because the remaining states on the map are favorable to Biden and he would have caught up.

Bernie has no chance of catching up. Nada. Zilch. Zippo.

[DanTex]

36. I believe that according to the rules, Bernie can stay in as long as he wants.

[zackymilly]

37. Bernie has become a bad joke. n/t

[showblue22]

38. I'm ok with him staying til the end

The larger the defeat the less leverage he has at the convention and beyond.

[The Magistrate]

51. This Is The End, Ma'am

He has no leverage, either at the convention or beyond.

Sanders has at bottom only one lever --- a threat to behave in such a manner as to advance the interests of Trump and Republicans. The man's nature is such this sort of thing cannot be ruled out, of course.


"Now that is cool. A highwayman puts a pistol to my head and says give me your money or I will have to shoot you, and then you will become a murderer."

[showblue22]

56. I agree with you.

I think he is trying to thread the needle figuring out a way to keep donations coming in without looking bad.

[The Magistrate]

57. If He is Just After Money, Ma'am

The whole thing falls apart. Then he is nothing but a grifter, a mere Palin with a dour scowl and a shabby suit....

[NYMinute]

44. Yes, but why? So his supporters feel better?

[ehrnst]

48. I suppose that it's more material for future books

to be sold at Walmart and on Amazon. After all, 'it's not against the law' to make millions selling wares on Amazon and from Walmart, so I hear...

[ehrnst]

49. And waste money and resources that could be used in the GE, after he has no path to the nomination.

If Biden was in this position, you'd have at least five OPs going on why he should drop out...

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. I think he really has a narrow and flawed rationale

for staying in. His rationale is that he thinks Dems agree with his policies. No matter how true that might be, it's moot. Because the majority of Dems think it's more important to beat trump. The fact that he doesn't "get" this and has made no effort to broaden appeal to improve his own electability quotient, demonstrates a flawed intellect.

[The Magistrate]

52. Indeed, Sir --- The Besetting Sin Of The Vanguardist

Sanders knows what voters support better than they know it themselves, and will move heaven and earth to see that their agreement with him is made manifest in this Earthly Paradise which is just one more effort away....



"'Once more and we have it, lads!' the officers said. They said it in March and in April. They said it in May. In June they did not say it anymore."

[NYMinute]

42. Yes .. we have seen enough.

[aikoaiko]

45. June is only 3 months away. It will go by fast.

[Gothmog]

46. But sanders staying in the race and losing primaries by large margins may be amusing

sanders not dropping out may help Biden. sanders keeps on losing primaries by large margins nnly strenghten's Joe's position https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/11/no-surprise-bernie-sanders-is-still-all-about-himself-never-party/

Sanders’s remaining in the race should serve several salutary purposes for the party and the country. First, seeing him lose overwhelmingly week after week will dispel the notion that the Democratic Party has moved left, or that he is in a dominant position to negotiate with the overwhelming winner. It’s not clear why the Biden camp should “give” Sanders anything.

Second, it is good to keep Biden in fighting form, continuing to boost turnout and showing, as he did in Philadelphia, how presidential he is. Biden can pivot to the general election, essentially ignoring Sanders. (His planned speech on the coronavirus is the perfect opportunity to leave Sanders out of the discussion entirely.)....

Whoever is to replace Sanders as the standard-bearer for the left — hopefully someone as smart and wonky as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — will need to learn how to win elections. (Hint: It is not by scaring voters or attaching oneself to the socialist label.) When in office, a new generation of leaders on the left will need to learn the art of deal-making rather than waste years, as Sanders has, rabble-rousing but accomplishing nothing. Unlike Sanders, Warren (or whoever else takes the reins) will not be burdened by a record of reflexively praising dictators nor be driven to attack fellow Democrats.

Sanders will end the race at some point, a diminished figure. In retrospect, his wins in 2016 will be seen more as an anti-Hillary Clinton vote than a pro-Sanders vote. How he behaves at Sunday’s debate will determine whether he leaves a bad taste in the mouths of Democrats.

[Anon-C]

53. Interesting thread...

Link to tweet

[KitSileya]

58. Do you think that making down-ticket races more difficult because he refuses to concede

is part of his goal, or is it just a coincidental benefit to him? After all, the money raised for the party by all the other candidates (remember how Sec. Clinton raised lots and lots of money for down-ticket races while he raised none, yet they didn't get the money until late, almost too late, because he refused to concede?) cannot be released by anyone but the nominee or the presumptive nominee? In all the states that have had their primaries and where the Democratic candidates for state Rep, state Senator, Representative and Senator has already been decided, yet they cannot start hitting their Republican opponents and keep the pressure up for the next 4 months because Senator Sanders refuses to concede. Is that a bug or a feature in his planning, do you think?