To paraphrase what some others have said here, what does Bernie have to offer independents, center-left, center-right, populist / blue-collar Dems who voted last time for Trump (especially in swing and midwestern / "Hillbilly El0gy" areas)? I'm pretty sure Trump has positions favorable to Bernie on:
- Green New Deal (worst job-killing scheme ever)- and assault on the US energy industry
- Abortion until point of birth
- Higher taxes for all who pay taxes
- Gun confiscation
- Elimination of private insurance (negatively impacting 1/6 of US economy, and health care quality and timeliness for millions
- Mandatory US minimum wage rates (which always lead to significant reduction in jobs for working class)
- Pro-illegal-immigration stance (sanctuary cities, no crackdown on hirers) which also hurts employment and wages for working class and minority citizens
- Activist vs. constructionist judges
I know many hate Trump the person - and I can understand that. But unless the economy tanks big time, there is no way even with record youth turnout, there are enough votes for Bernie to win. These moderates, independents are quite happy with the economy, jobs, etc. What is going to drive them to vote for someone promising to instill policies that will take all these things they like - away from them?
(Note: the unemployment rate overall and especially for minorities is lower than any time in history. How many of these now gainfully employed people, especially in swing / purple states, are going to roll the dice and vote for a guy who might cause them to lose the job they just recently got? What benefit is in if for them to outweigh this risk?
And Bernie's rallies aren't as big as Trumps, FWIW. And Trump crushes Bernie in fund raising at every level, including small $ amount and individual donor count.
Well this is going to be a long reply because you made a lot of inaccurate claims.
The notion that the green new deal is the "worst job killing scheme in American history" is actually hilarious. That kind of jingoistic nonsense is what's wrong with political discourse today. We cannot continue to burn fossil fuels to produce energy. The climate science is crystal clear on this. Converting to sustainable energy systems will create millions of jobs. 20 million estimated jobs according to Sanders' plan. If you want to call the modernization of our energy industry an "assault" then go for it, but you sound like a Fox News headline.
Bernie Sanders has never said he supports abortion up until birth. He has repeatedly said that it should be between a woman and her physician. There has been inaccurate propaganda attacking both Hillary and Bernie that makes this claim since 2016, which has been repeatedly debunked.
https://www.politifact.com/facebook...ct-checking-bernie-sanders-abortion-position/
The increase in taxes has also been analyzed by economists like Robert Reich. The vast majority of Americans would save money because they would no longer be paying for private health insurance. And their taxes would be going towards infrastructure and services that actually benefit them instead of massive subsidies for the oil industry.
Gun confiscation? Lol. You really need to stop getting your information about Bernie from fox news. Here's a quote from him.
“Folks who do not like guns [are] fine. But we have millions of people who are gun owners in this country — 99.9 percent of those people obey the law. I want to see real, serious debate and action on guns, but it is not going to take place if we simply have extreme positions on both sides. I think I can bring us to the middle.” He's a senator in one of the biggest hunting states in the country. He's argued that gun control should come down to the states. If he was advocating for gun confiscation, his constituents in Vermont would have voted him out of office a long time ago.
Private health insurance is a scam. They tell you what doctors you can/can't see, and do everything in their power not to pay for your healthcare despite the fact that you paid for insurance. That's how the insurance industry works. The entire healthcare industry accounts for 1/6th of the economy, not health insurance. People aren't going to just stop getting healthcare if we eliminate private health insurance. In fact, studies have shown that people are more likely to get routine checkups and preventive care when they can afford regular doctor's visits. Furthermore, the US consistently struggles in healthcare outcomes when compared to other industrialized nations with national healthcare systems. The current system is broken and needs to be massively overhauled. Medicare for all seems like as good of an option as I've seen.
We already have a mandatory minimum wage. The problem is that it's been locked since 2009 while inflation has eaten away at the purchasing power of that wage. You don't have to be an economist to understand the difference between nominal and real wages. The minimum wage should be tied to inflation so that the minimum wage offers enough purchasing power to actually survive on. The arguments that people should just work harder or get a promotion shows how ignorant conservatives are of economics and game theory. Corporations have a shared interest in keeping wages low. They have all of the market power because they are the ones offering the jobs and people need jobs. So they have no incentive to raise wages out of the goodness of their hearts or just because one laborer is "worth more." The only way that working conditions and pay improves for the working class is through organized public action. Unions got us weekends, and 40 hour workweeks. Public action got children out of factories. The support for raising the minimum wage has grown to the point where many corporations have stopped lobbying against it because the incentives have shifted to the point where they can't afford the hit to their public reputation.
Actually here are the bullet points from Bernie's own website regarding his stance on immigration.
- Enact comprehensive immigration reform, including a path towards citizenship.
- Expand DACA and DAPA, including providing immediate legal status for young people eligible for the DACA program and developing a humane policy for those seeking asylum.
- Completely reshape and reform our immigration enforcement system, including fundamentally restructuring ICE, an agency Senator Sanders voted against creating.
- End the barbaric practice of family separation and detention of children in cages.
- Dismantle cruel and inhumane deportation programs and detention centers.
- Establish standards for independent oversight of relevant agencies within DHS.
- Enact comprehensive immigration reform, including a path towards citizenship.
- Expand DACA and DAPA, including providing immediate legal status for young people eligible for the DACA program and developing a humane policy for those seeking asylum.
- Completely reshape and reform our immigration enforcement system, including fundamentally restructuring ICE, an agency Senator Sanders voted against creating.
- End the barbaric practice of family separation and detention of children in cages.
- Dismantle cruel and inhumane deportation programs and detention centers.
- Establish standards for independent oversight of relevant agencies within DHS.
He's proposing a pathway to citizenship. That's not the same thing as advocating for the sanctuary city model.
With regards to fundraising... Republicans accept larger personal donations, and any money being donated towards the presidential race is going to one candidate because he's the incumbent. Bernie raised roughly 25 million last quarter. That's plenty of money, and it will only increase if he becomes the nominee. Fundraising is not an issue. This is the guy who changed the way politicians fund raise. He'll be fine.
Their rallies are on the same scale in terms of turnout. I don't have the numbers on hand to compare them, but I've watched Bernie repeatedly fill massive arenas and outdoor spaces. If his rallies are smaller than trumps then its only because they're choosing smaller venues. They're full to capacity just about every time.
