An Illustration Of the Problem, Ladies And Gentlemen

[The Magistrate]

This is an excerpt from The Guardian's panel discussion on last night's primary results:

Benjamin Dixon: ‘Voting during a pandemic doesn’t feel fair’

"What we are seeing unfold before us is a political establishment so determined to maintain its grip on power that it would insist on holding an election during a pandemic that targets the older voters who showed up to the polls today. The results from today’s election would never be considered legitimate under normal circumstances with poll locations closing with no notification, poll workers not showing up for fear of their lives, and other locations being consolidated which all but ensures that voters in those locations will be gathered in groups larger than the 50 maximum limit suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"But here we are, with a party that is so desperate to put the progressive movement down that it would risk the lives of their voters to go to the polls during a national emergency. There will be a rush to “validate” this election, but any reasonable observer engaging in good faith would confess that not postponing the primaries or, at a minimum, extending the primaries and allowing the voter to continue voting by mail constitutes voter suppression."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/17/joe-biden-bernie-sanders-us-elections-2020-panel

It is the view of one Benjamin Dixon, who has a podcast, apparently.

Some particulars may be found here:

https://progressivearmy.com/benjamin-dixon-show-live/

Opinions may differ, certainly, but this does not strike me as someone amenable to reason, let alone to compromise and coalition. Persons holding such views must unfortunately be written off. Certainly they cannot be bought off or placated.

[LongtimeAZDem]

1. The party did not risk my life; I voted, by my own free will

[Walleye]

2. This is not an election. It's a nominating process.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Grasping at straws, and the party had not much actual control over what the states did

Social distancing, regional isolation, evolved over about 3-4 days. Primary cancellation was not mentioned much prior to about last Saturday.

[dalton99a]

4. Kick

[wyldwolf]

5. Did I not hear that, at least in Illinois, turnout exceeded 2016 levels?

[The Magistrate]

32. I Believe It Did In All Three States, Sir

The increased turnout being among demographics none too receptive to Sanders. That is how an election is rigged against the 'people's champion', by voters casting ballots for someone else.

[TwilightZone]

6. Agreed.

The lengths that some are going to to ignore the context of the race are pretty remarkable. The race was over before yesterday, and the writing was already on the wall for current and future states and territories. The results were what they were expected to be well before the past few days.

And "voter suppression"? Tell that to the people who showed up and voted, in many places in numbers higher than 2016. We should be targeting real voter suppression tactics, not imagined ones.

I find that the people making comments like this are the first and loudest ones to complain that Biden isn't doing enough to pander to them and unify the party. Some simply were never going to vote for Biden because he's not Bernie. Demanding that Biden do something about it simply isn't realistic.

[Raastan]

7. + 1

[treestar]

8. Also it was said this would be to Bernie's advantage

As it was the older voters who were more at risk and likely to stay home.

[The Magistrate]

16. There Was Indeed Some Gloating Of That Sort, Ma'am

We are afflicted on the radical left with a plague of creme-puffs masquerading as hard rolls.

"So much of contemporary politics on the left amounts to playing with fire by people who don't even know fire is hot."

[peggysue2]

20. LOL!!

Nicely put:

We are afflicted on the radical left with a plague of creme-puffs masquerading as hard rolls.


Made me laugh. And that's a good thing!

[babylonsister]

9. omg, am I ever

happy to see you!!!

And fwiw, if everyone could vote absentee, as I did in Florida, the problem would be solved.

[Hav]

12. Seconded, you saw that avatar and you knew

you'd read something thoughtful, written with style. That and addressing everybody with Ma'am and Sir, although it offended some, was always a nice touch .

[The Magistrate]

17. Thank You, Ma'am

Great to see you too.

[DoBotherMe]

29. Welcome Back!

I've missed you.

[PatSeg]

10. Though I think mail in voting

should be available nationwide, I am getting tired of people insulting those who have made their choice and the vast majority chose Joe Biden. The circumstances surrounding yesterday's primaries were certainly out of the ordinary, but all major polls had shown Joe winning for weeks now. If anything, the pandemic should have worked more to Sander's advantage, as older voters are much more vulnerable.

I really don't think we can drag the primaries out much longer, without doing irreparable damage to the party and risk losing in November.

The DNC and the so-called "establishment" did not cast my vote. I did and without their influence.

[Sunsky]

11. BS. The "movement" lost before we began self distancing

See Feb 29th through super Tues. Maybe someone should've taken the hint then. He has slim to no path, yet he's still continuing. He is responsible for the prolonged primary, not "a party that is so desperate to put the progressive movement down". It's evident that bs spreads. This is why we need to end primary and work on uniting our party. Learn from 2016 people.

[NCProgressive]

13. Benjamin Dixon is always part of the problem, never part of the solution

[highplainsdem]

14. Dixon is an irrational Bernie bro who threatened not to vote & complained Biden's suit was expensive

Earlier thread I posted about comments he and other Sanders supporters made, threatening not to vote:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287546096

Dixon's tweet then:

Link to tweet

It’s almost like immediately after everyone realized that Bloomberg was an incompetent overlord, they collectively decided to go to plan C to stop Sanders: Contested Convention.

Same rules apply. You steal democracy from us we steal your power from you by refusing to vote.

Dixon whining about Biden's well-tailored suit during Sunday night's debate with Sanders:

Link to tweet

It’s a small detail, but you can see the class conflict clearly on stage in the custom tailored suit Biden is wearing and the suit off the rack that Sanders is wearing.

The Bidens made $15.6 million 2017-2018

I considered posting about his silly whine about Biden's suit last Sunday, but if I posted about every idiocy Dixon tweets, it would fill up this forum.

[peggysue2]

22. The whine about Biden's suit is just dumb and dumber

Even the complaint about how much money the Biden's have made is pointless because Bernie Sanders rolled in the dough from his own book sales. When questioned about the money, the extra homes, Sanders was irritated and flip: I wrote and sold books!

Joe Biden's career has never been marked by large sums of money. His colleagues raked in enormous amounts while Joe Biden rode back and forth on Amtrak for God's sake.

As for the suit? Yes, Biden was perfectly tailored for the debate. He looked and sounded presidential. And you know what? Bernie Sanders can afford a decent, well-tailored suit, too. That rumpled look is Bernie's choice, not a case of a depleted bank account.

These arguments are lame. It's just a sign that the Benjamin Dixon's of the world know that the optics during the debate were clearly to Biden's advantage. And whose fault was that? That would be Bernie. Not a class struggle, a personal choice.

[The Magistrate]

23. It Troubles Me A Little, Sir, The Guardian Maintains Him As A Panel Commentator

I have had a fair respect for that paper since Mr. Orwell remarked it was the only left paper whose reporting on the Spanish Civil War was remotely accurate, and because Mr. J. B. Powell, an American newspaperman at Shanghai in the twenties and thirties, whose reporting I consider of great value, was their Oriental correspondent.

[Mosby]

15. That was a long break you took.

I thought something bad had happened.

Nice to see you back.

[The Magistrate]

24. Sometimes, Sir, The Creeping Crud Breaks Into A Canter

Changes how one looks at spending time.

[Crunchy Frog]

18. OMG! You're back!

I thought you'd disappeared off the face of the Earth. Hope everything is okay with you.

[The Magistrate]

25. Most Things Are, Ma'am

Those that aren't are internal and cannot be helped.

[Scurrilous]

19. He's an idiot.

Written off like the rest.

[honest.abe]

21. If Bernie had won yesterday the story would have been different.

"Millions of brave dedicated voters show up despite the threat of a pandemic to vote for Bernie Sanders. This proves Sanders should be the nominee."

[unblock]

26. welcome back, sir!

[ecstatic]

27. So sick of their childish hyperbole. nt

[Atticus]

28. Long time no read. Glad you are back. nt

[flotsam]

30. Welcome back Sir

You may have returned a while ago but this is the first time I have seen you. I'm glad of it!

[The Magistrate]

31. Just Last Night, In Fact

Thank you for the welcome.

[Cha]

33. Dixon has a sad because Democrats went out to Vote

even in a pandemic crisis. They care more about our country and our Planet than their own FEAR.

They are to be commended.. Not Whined about.

Thank you, TM.. good to see you back. I did a double take. lol

[Tarheel_Dem]

34. I'm sure Mr. Dixon would have preferred that we stopped voting after Nevada, because everything....

that's happened since has been a complete repudiation of people like him. Welcome Back Magistrate!