Sen. Bernie Sanders really would be an easier candidate for President Donald Trump to campaign against in November. Sanders is so far left, with a history of burning bridges, that Trump and the Republican Party could easily and deservedly vilify him.
The American public got a taste of Sanders, the true believer in communist revolution, when he sat for an interview with Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes." Sanders praised Cuban dictator Fidel Castro for a literacy program after the Cuban revolution. Never mind that Castro also rounded up dissidents, engaged in mass murder and pulled his people into unending poverty. At least they could read how poor they were.
On Tuesday night, across the country, it appeared Democrats mostly rejected Sanders. In states Sanders won, former Vice President Joe Biden came close. In states like Virginia, where Sanders had been ahead in recent polling, Biden decisively crushed him. Sanders got a few good wins, including California. However, even California was closer than it should have been, and in Sanders' home state of Vermont, Biden drew closer than anyone expected he could.
Believe no pundit who said they saw the Super Tuesday results coming. On the morning of Super Tuesday, some polls showed Sanders winning 10 of the 14 states. While some votes are even now outstanding, it looks like Biden won 10 of the 14. In fact, Biden won Oklahoma, Minnesota and Massachusetts with very little campaigning in those states.
Massachusetts was really the most remarkable race. Polling and Democratic strategists predicted Sanders would beat Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Polling had consistently shown this; contrary to media advocacy for Warren, she is not very popular in her home state. Biden, however, was not a factor. Well, he was not a factor until he won the state.
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Given Biden's amazing rebound in South Carolina, a lot of knowledgeable pundits calculated he could get ahead of Sanders in delegates in the next two weeks. After Florida, Biden could dominate the race. No one saw Biden jumping ahead this past Tuesday. He now looks set to be the Democrats' nominee, barring an unforeseen event.
That is a good thing for the country. Super Tuesday was formalized by Southern Democrats in 1980 to stop the advance of Sen. Ted Kennedy against incumbent President Jimmy Carter, and Democrats have used it ever since to blunt the momentum of the far left in their party. They did it again this year.
While the Democratic Party continues to drift toward an eventual split between secular, rich, white voters and voters who are black or Hispanic, enough of their voters overall rejected a radical candidate. That is a good thing for the country. It is a recognition that the far-left socialist policies of Sanders and Warren are being rejected by minority voters within the Democratic Party. It is a recognition of the fact that a full government takeover of health care and other parts of the private sector are nonstarters. It is a recognition that "Medicare for All" will go nowhere. It is a recognition that the "Bernie Bros" are marginalized. It is the death of the Green New Deal.
The nation needs two mostly-sane political parties. While the Democrats will never acknowledge the GOP is sane under Trump, those of us who know better know it is and should be thankful the Democrats appear to be rejecting their insane fringe. That makes November a more difficult fight for the President. But at least it ensures, even if by accident, the country is spared a radical communist as a major party leader.
As a bonus, this will undoubtedly exacerbate the divisions within the Democratic Party between the radical left and the establishment. Lastly, if you cannot bring yourselves to applaud Democrats for rejecting a radical communist as their presidential nominee, at least applaud them for exposing their own lie. Democrats have told us Russians spent a few million dollars and stole the 2016 election for Donald Trump. If Mike Bloomberg could not buy the election with $500 million, it is even less plausible today to presume the Russians could steal it with far less.
To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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