Nate Silver tweets, "ThE DeMoCrAtiC PriMaRy Is OvEr":

[George II]

Link to tweet

[The Magistrate]

1. Everyone Knows This, Sir

With the exception of a few members of the Imperial Japanese Army still holding out in the caves of Saipan....





Mr. Biden is, after all, the only Democrat remaining in the contest.

The Democratic Party should begin now to consider Mr. Biden in all ways its nominee. Its leading figures should speak out for him and begin to campaign and raise funds for him. 'Bernie' should be ignored, and made to run explicitly against the Democratic Party. It is the only way to draw his teeth in regard to the general election, and the best way to minimize the size of his cult following.

If these things are done, postponement of the convention, which does seem indicated by concerns of public health, will make sense politically as well.


"Fortune favors the bold."





"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"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."

[DarthDem]

3. Well Said, Judge

Even Rep. Ocasio-Cortez appears to be tiring of Sen. Sanders' act. One bright spot is that the longer he carries on his egotistical crusade, the longer he loses credibility and support. As I've said elsewhere, this is not 2016. I love your point that Mr. Biden is the only Democrat remaining in the race.

[The Magistrate]

8. Thank You, Sir

I agree with your comments, regarding how 'Bernie' is busy at destroying whatever shreds of credibility he may have left, and concerning Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. I have thought from her first appearance on the national scene she is a splendid ornament to our Party, and will have, and ought to have, a valuable career in Congress. She has the 'X-factor' in spades.

[mcar]

24. This!

The Democratic Party should begin now to consider Mr. Biden in all ways its nominee. Its leading figures should speak out for him and begin to campaign and raise funds for him. 'Bernie' should be ignored, and made to run explicitly against the Democratic Party. It is the only way to draw his teeth in regard to the general election, and the best way to minimize the size of his cult following.

[The Magistrate]

28. It Seems The Bset Course, Ma'am

And after all, Mr. Biden is the one Democrat remaining in the field....





"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"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."

[mcar]

30. Yes, and there is a lot of work to be done

vis a vis virtual campaigning, etc.

[leftieNanner]

2. PLEASE???

Bernie? Bow out with grace. Let go and get on board so that we can defeat the monster in DC.

Is there any way to flood his campaign with post cards or emails or something? Asking him to stop?

[stopbush]

7. I think we're beyond the bowing out with grace window.

[leftieNanner]

9. Yeah

How about bowing out respectfully and supporting Joe Biden?

[The Magistrate]

12. Well Past It, Sir

The man is like a weekend guest who is still ensconced in the spare bed Wednesday morning, and busily raiding the fridge while complaining of the lack of liverwurst among the lunch meats....






"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"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."

[cayugafalls]

14. Hidden hand...it worked once. Why not try again...

He could have so easily been a unifying force, but that was never his intention. He is as much of a deconstructionist as Trump is...

Stay well.

[2naSalit]

31. Couldn't agree more, Sir.

[onetexan]

49. LOL yes, as the old adage goes: guests are like fish - the longer they stay the longer they stink

and BS is a guest of the Democratic party whose wayyyy overstayed his welcome. He now stinks. Time for the DNC to just kick him out.

[BidenBacker]

4. Nerdy Nate

often tells me things I did not previously know.

Not this time, however.

[KayF]

5. ransom note?

???

[NoMoreRepugs]

6. Think of the avid Bernie supporters giving up on him

in the same vein as the Deplorable base giving up on the Orange Menace - not gonna happen. Bernie’s ego is almost as big as little donnie’s.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. Why is he using sarcastic typography?

[cab67]

11. I've run into some Bernie supporters who won't see it this way.

As far as they're concerned, Sanders has a broader level of support than Biden. One of them told me that Biden has to "expand his base" to appeal to the majority of progressives. As if Biden's base didn't already encompass nearly all of the Democratic Party.

[smb]

17. Yeah, Sure....

As far as they're concerned, Sanders has a broader level of support than Biden.

Lots of people support him (just not enough to actually bother to vote for him).

[Cha]

55. They're Projecting.. how sad

[NurseJackie]

13. AbAnDoN tHe ReVoLuTiOn!

Joe/Kamala or Biden/Harris 2020!!
Jump on the Biden Bandwagon & abandon the revolution!!

[BidenBacker]

15. This was from the last reporting quarter

Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign announced Thursday that it raised a "staggering" $34.5 million from an average donation of just $18.53 in the fourth quarter of 2019, the largest single-quarter fundraising haul of any candidate in the Democratic primary so far.

I'm thinking if we all send him $20 to drop out maybe he'll go with the highest bidder.

[The Magistrate]

20. Cold But Fair, Sir

"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"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."

[BidenBacker]

23. Think the next campaign finance reports should be coming out any day now

Will be interesting to see if BS's donations have plummeted as much as his political fortune did in March or if his mindless minions are still getting mooched.

This was the last one thru the end of February...

Tracking The Money Race Behind The Presidential Campaign

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/16/711812314/tracking-the-money-race-behind-the-presidential-campaign

Bernie outspent Biden more than 3-to-1 in February alone. He didn't get the results but I trust he kept the receipts.

[The Magistrate]

25. That Seems Likely, Sir

One suspects 'grass-roots' donations will plummet in the present situation.

The old pols used to say "If you can't drink their whiskey and take their money, and still vote against them, you're in the wrong business."




"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"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."

[NurseJackie]

26. He gets to keep all that money, right? Even when he doesn't win...

He gets to keep all that money, right? Even when he doesn't win all those donations belong to Bernie and Jane (or whatever remains after paying the salaries), right?

Is that taxable?

[The Magistrate]

34. Strictly Speaking, Ma'am, No, He Does Not

He cannot directly convert funds donated for his campaign to personal use.

He can employ them for future political purposes, to support other candidates, or roll them into a future campaign of his own.

Although careful choice of who provides services to such campaigns, who handles their media work and such like, could direct much of the take into friendly or familial hands. If done too obviously, of course, that is actionable....





"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"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."

[NurseJackie]

37. Ah, I remember there was this one politician who...

Although careful choice of who provides services to such campaigns, who handles their media work and such like, could direct much of the take into friendly or familial hands. If done too obviously, of course, that is actionable....

Ah, I remember there was this one politician who had hired family members on their campaign, or perhaps they had bought ads from a family-owned media company and other types of self-dealing. The details are fuzzy for me right now, but I remember people were talking about it and commenting on how inappropriate it was, and that his (or her) campaign was skating on thin ice with regards to whether it was actionable... but the general consensus was that it was ethically questionable and flew in the face of his (or her) campaign rhetoric.

[The Magistrate]

40. Something About That Nags At My Mind Too, Ma'am

But surely a politician of great consistency and high principles could not be engaged in grifting like a common Palin....


"I am a man of principles, and chief among them is flexibility."





"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"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."

[BidenBacker]

47. Ya know, now that you mention it

I also vaguely recall something about that. Think it was some old white guy...waved his arms a lot...mighta been a New Englander if not mistaken. But damned if I can remember his name now.

Sanders and Wife Steered Campaign, Nonprofit Money to Family and Friends

https://freebeacon.com/politics/sanders-and-wife-steered-campaign-nonprofit-money-to-family-and-friends/

Nice gig, if you're related to the right people and can get it. Suddenly not dropping out is starting to make a whole lot more sense. Okay, so I'm a slow learner.

[comradebillyboy]

38. He just needs to give Jane a big pay raise...

[BidenBacker]

42. I found this earlier today while researching other stuff

It's old news from last summer that some/many of you may have already seen before but it was news to me and I thought the hypocrisy was delicious...

The controversy over Bernie Sanders’s low-paid field staffers, explained

A moralist gets a taste of his own medicine.

https://www.vox.com/2019/7/20/20700841/bernie-sanders-minimum-wage-staff-pay

Field staff earn $36,000 a year, which would be above minimum wage on a standard workweek, but Sanders field personnel say they’re actually working about 60 hours a week — for an hourly wage of $13. Long hours are typical of campaign work (you have a limited span of time in which to win the thing, after all), but these particular positions fall into a kind of legal and sociocultural black hole. The norm in America was that low-status workers would be paid an hourly wage and thus be eligible for overtime pay if they worked long hours. Salaried workers wouldn’t necessarily get overtime for pulling long shifts, but salaried work was associated with high-skill, high-status, well-compensated white-collar work.

But capitalism abhors a vacuum, so over time, more and more low-paid workers found themselves in the category of being salaried and ineligible for overtime. The Obama administration tried to tackle this with a Labor Department regulation mandating overtime for anyone earning less than $47,000, but it was challenged in court and the Trump administration elected not to defend the rule, instead writing a new rule that set the threshold at $35,000. At an annual salary just below that threshold, Sanders’s field staff would be collecting lots of overtime and thus earning more than $36,000, but instead, their salary was pegged (perhaps not coincidentally) to be just above the exempt threshold.

Apparently a WaPo reporter uncovered the fact that the BS campaign had hired a bunch of people as salaried workers and then paid them $36,000 a year...a lousy grand above the level where they woulda been forced to pay them for the actual overtime they all worked. Soon after they got caught they upped their salaries a bit so that they were getting compensated a little better for actual hours worked...

BERNIE SANDERS SAYS CAMPAIGN STAFF ALL MAKING MORE THAN $15 PER HOUR AFTER NEW UNION DEAL

https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-campaign-staff-more-15-per-hour-after-union-deal-1450756

Doesn't take very long for a person who became a millionaire repeating "I am sick and tired of millionaires and billionaires..." ad nauseam to start acting like one himself, does it?

[BidenBacker]

35. Illegal

for a candidate to keep campaign donations for personal use.

I don't know what the hell BS coulda spent damn near $46 million on in just one month. Surely he can't be paying that "professional" staff of his that much to make the kinda tweets they've been spewing out lately?

Bernie coulda hired a bunch of immature juvenile junior-high schoolers to make them for mere vape money and gotten the same quality.

[Walleye]

43. Russia still sending him money

[BidenBacker]

53. Yeah, but Putin's oil war with Saudi Arabia is starting to hurt his bottomline a little

Poor Vlad must be down to only around $130 billion in total net worth by now.

He may have to scale back a little on his Trump campaign contributions during the general election.

[mcar]

27. Love it!

[Devil Child]

29. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery..." n/t

[NurseJackie]

32. Oh, honey! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

[Devil Child]

33. I don't known NurseJackie, I sense a connection between you two!

[NurseJackie]

36. Connection? I really have no idea what you're talking about.

I know George II as an online friend, and we share the same opinion on many topics. I guess you could call that a "connection" in some regard, but it's unclear what you're driving at.

[TwilightZone]

51. Haha, no....

I think the poster was referring to your imitation of a certain DU poster, smiles and all.

[Devil Child]

56. That's a bingo!

Thank you for explaining my attempt at humor for me. Much appreciated!

[BidenBacker]

58. Everytime I hear that expression

I can't help but think of this guy now...

[warmfeet]

52. Biden/Harris 2020, absolutely.

Looking forward to it.

[Thekaspervote]

16. I saw that!! Indeed the primary is over and Joe won! Yeah!!!

[BlueIdaho]

18. Bernie's 30% ceiling holds...

That may have been enough with more candidates in the mix - but as the field shrinks - it’s not enough to get the nomination or to win an election.

[helpisontheway]

44. Just like the Trump base.nt

[Gothmog]

19. I was amused by this tweet

[GeorgiaPeanut]

21. Bernie, use all your senses

It is over man. Drop out like a gentleman.

[Mr. Ected]

22. Is it a cardinal sin on DU to assert that Bernie is actually a nemesis and not a friend?

To the Democratic Party, at least.

[comradebillyboy]

39. Sanders has never claimed to be a friend of the Democratic Party

and always casts the party as his enemy.

[LostOne4Ever]

45. When caucuses with the Republicans Or runs 3rd party

Then he is an enemy.

But he hasn’t and won’t ever do that.

[SKKY]

41. Well, if nothing else, Nate Silver seems to have not lost his grasp on the obvious. N/T

[IronLionZion]

46. rAnDom cAPitOLizAtioN iS aWesOmE!

[PatrickforO]

48. Well, it needs to be over because we desperately need

to begin campaigning against Trump and and the disgusting sack of toxic waste and excrement he calls an administration. I get more angry at Trump daily. This would NEVER have happened under Obama, and certainly not under Clinton.

And now Trump is presiding over the biggest fuck-up an American president has ever been guilty of, and it is all on him. All. On. Him.

And where's all those ads from Bloomberg and Steyer anyway?

[Lonestarblue]

50. I support a number of Bernie's ideas, especially Medicare for All, but he needs to concede now.

But he is mathematically out of the race unless he is able to win 65-70% of the remaining delegates. And even then he would need the votes of some superdelegates, the very establishment people he has been bashing. It’s too bad the Democratic Convention had to be moved to August because that just gives some of Bernie’s more rabid, scorched-earth supporters more time to create negative ads about Biden, which we all know Trump will use.

[George II]

54. Correct, he has to win EVERY remaining primary (27 of them) with at least 64% of the delegates....

In the first 30, he only exceeded that number three times - the Nevada caucus, his home state of Vermont, and the Northern Marianas ( )

[LizBeth]

57. Yes, Sanders had integrity, he would get behind Biden and help his supporters do the same. What is

the capital, letter letter deal? I have seen that elsewhere.