Millions Will Vote for a Man They Hate to Stop a Man They Loathe

Let me get this out of the way first: you are not a conservative in any way, shape, or form if you would vote for Bernie Sanders over Donald Trump. Sit out if you want, because the process grosses you out and you hate them. But actively voting for a socialist to stop the populist disqualifies you from ever talking about conservatism.

You can rationalize it and say that four years of Bernie would be ineffective because of Congressional gridlock, but that can be said of Trump too. Trump, at least at the regulatory level, has rolled back government, not expanded it. Bernie would undermine the private sector, free-market, churches, and individual liberty without ever involving Congress.

Stop posing as a conservative if you are going with Sanders. It’d be far better to sit it out. To go for Sanders is really an admission against interest that your pride is suffering, not the country.

As for the rest of us, ironically millions are going to turn out to vote for a guy they hate to stop a guy they loathe. I know a lot of people who refused to vote for Trump in 2016 who will crawl over broken glass to support him in 2020 against Sanders. I know Democrats who despise Sanders but consider Trump a bigger threat because of judges, deregulation, etc.

No one will be happy.

The upside is perhaps that our politics is getting so broken that people will realize at the local level they have to do something different. Our politics is only going to get better if people actually turn away from Washington and start focusing on their local communities. People burning out on national politics and convinced the country is held hostage by the fringes of either side is actually good. It’ll get them to stop worrying about Washington and get them to worry about their local communities instead.

The Bernie Map

Mike Bloomberg is about to spend millions to destroy Bernie Sanders with ad campaigns and opposition research. There’s just a problem.

We are less than a week away from South Carolina. Bernie is going to do well enough to add more delegates. Three days later is Super Tuesday. That will see races in Alabama; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Maine; Massachusetts; Minnesota; North Carolina; Oklahoma; Tennessee; Texas; Utah, Vermont; and Virginia.

Bernie is going to win most of California’s 494 delegates and is surging in Texas. Texas has 262 delegates. Right now, Bernie is in second in Texas and will pick up a significant number of delegates. If he goes to first there, he will get more. The latest polling now has him leading.

Bloomberg can spend what he wants, but Bloomberg is not on the ballot until Super Tuesday and is losing to Sanders in Texas and California.

The next major haul will be Florida with 248 delegates and Sanders may be shut out there. But he is going up in the polls there too. It is not yet known if his 60 Minutes remarks will sabotage him there.

The problem is that Biden will keep picking up delegates too. That keeps Biden in the race fighting Bloomberg. Warren also has no reason to get out because she is doing well in several polls and will gain delegates on Super Tuesday. She is also a useful instrument to attack the establishment in a way that protects Bernie.

But, Events Change Things

If Bloomberg is resurgent in tonight’s debate or Biden does terrible in South Carolina, those events could finally shake up the race. The odds are the candidates will finally go after Bernie in desperation, but I would expect Elizabeth Warren to keep up the attacks on Bloomberg and Biden, drawing cover for Bernie.

On top of that, Warren is a media darling and they love to give her air time. That actually will help Bernie. Warren does not want to piss off Bernie supporters. She wants to be seen as a reasonable alternative to Bernie. She loves socialism, just not democratic socialism. She will defend free markets but embrace Bernie’s policies.

Warren has to take out Bloomberg and stunt Biden’s momentum.

The debate is going to be meaningful, but we keep forgetting early voting. In Nevada, early voters ignored Warren and same-day voters saw a groundswell for her. A second great debate performance for Warren might not help her in South Carolina (it won’t), but could really help her on Super Tuesday.

Again, all this keeps the race from consolidating and keeps Bernie in the lead. Bernie has a core base of support and the other Democrats continue to fight over the majority of the party. If Bloomberg has another debate, it will be game over for him even if his consultants decide to keep him in so they can keep their payday going.

Look For This

Watch the moderators of the debate tonight to go after Sanders. The media really is lining up against Sanders. The press hates Trump so much they want him gone and doubt Sanders can do it.

But watch Sanders turn the attacks around on the press and the Democrats. His supporters will be united with him against the establishment. The attacks on Bernie will make him stronger against his opponents. Bloomberg’s coming ad campaign risks hurting Sanders and helping Trump, not the rest of the Democratic field.

I expect Sanders’ supporters to soon start arguing Bloomberg is a Republican plant in the race looking to help the President. A large number of Democrats will believe it.