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Whispers: Are There Some Democrats Who Are Willing to Jump Ship Over a Bernie Nomination?

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  February 26, 2020 2:12 PM

Democrats are undergoing what Republicans experienced in 2016. There’s an anti-establishment juggernaut named Sen. Bernie Sanders who could very well lock up the nomination and the window to stop him is quickly closing. There’s talk about some moderate candidate that can beat out Sanders if there’s unity among the other wings of the party. Does this sound familiar? 

In 2016, conservatives were panicking how to stop Trump. They thought if two or three candidates drop out, those voters would go to the strongest alternative. That didn’t happen—and that’s certainly not going to happen with the Democrats. For starters, there are no moderates running. They’re all left-wingers or hardcore liberals. It’s a battle between different shades of Bernie and bleeding hearts—and Sanders enjoys high popularity among Democratic voters. They like him. There is no ‘stop Sanders’ movement coming. So, what now? Like Never Trump voters who were mad that Trump won the GOP nomination and the 2016 election, will there be Never Sanders voters? 

Based on reactions from Sanders’ total domination in Nevada last week, there might be some who sit out over a Bernie nomination. Granted, this is all anecdotal and from social media so take it with a grain of salt. And while we may find those Democrats who are panicking over a Bernie candidacy, project an electoral landslide win for Trump, etc., let’s not forget the GOP had some folks who said the same things about Trump who then went on to clinch one of the biggest political upsets in modern American political history.  

If there is a Never Sanders wing, it’s not crazy to suggest that their impact will be like their Never Trump counterparts: minimal but insanely annoying. Yes, Bernie’s policies are radical, but so is the Democratic Party. Government-run health care is their policy. Abortion on demand is their position, with now a ghastly obsession with late-term abortion. Abortion being taxpayer-funded is a goal. High taxes, regulations, gun confiscation, and other left-wing nonsense is the core of what the Democratic Party wants and fights for on a daily basis. Bernie wants the same. He will push for what the vast majority of Democrats want, so what’s the problem? I ask the same of the Never Trump clowns. Trump’s agenda is 85 percent of what conservative Republicans want. His judicial agenda is wholly what they want—and yet they complain because of this, that, or the other concerning his personality. Who cares? Frankly, no one really cares about character if they’re yielding results. Bill Clinton, for better or worse, came into office when the USSR collapsed, allowing for a massive expansion of the economy under his presidency, but he also had an affair with an intern, among other things. No one cared, especially when the median household income rose by over $6,000 under his presidency. Not saying this is good or bad, moral or immoral—it’s what it is. 

Also, and back to the point, Democrats hate Trump—and this unifying factor along with the war cry to boot him from office is enough to get those who might be wary of Bernie to vote for him. At the end of the day, you pick a party for a reason and you vote for that party when Election Day comes. And unlike 2016, I think Bernie’s strength with the base will be a lot stronger. Right now, he’s gathering young people, Latinos, and union workers to his side. He did that in Nevada, with a key union telling their people to avoid Sanders over his health care policy. They didn’t listen. 

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It’s a bit eye-opening because that coalition is the one that ushered Obama into office. The GOP has failed to counter it if it can be at all. We can be entertained about the Democratic blood sports for sure; some top Democrats warning that the House is gone if Bernie is at the top of the ticket. We already have some wonks wondering if suburban women, who have fled the GOP, will rush back into the GOP camp over Bernie's agenda. Enjoy the show, but we need to also prepare for how to define this guy that goes beyond he’s a ‘socialist’ because a good chunk of the country already sees that as a positive.