Finishing second in a dead heat with 38-year-old former Dayton Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Iowa [26.6% to 26.1%] Feb 7, 78-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders causes panic in the Democratic National Committee [DNC]. DNC officials, led by 58-year-old former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, look for any way to undermine Bernie’s momentum. When Bernie ran against former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries, he sent chills in the DNC, nearly beating Hillary for the nomination. Were it not for the deliberate sabotage of Bernie’s campaign by 53-year-old former DNC Chairman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fl.), Bernie might have won the 2016 nomination. Bernie found out the hard way what happens when you try to knock of a Democrat icon like Hillary, watching Party officials work behind the scenes to secure her the nomination.
Bernie finds himself in a different situation this time around, with former Vice President Joe Biden standing between him and the nomination. With Biden’s fourth-place finish in Iowa, and expected loss in New Hampshire Feb. 10, it’s possible Biden’s campaign will fizzle out, leaving Bernie the Democrat front –runner. While that’s still too early to tell, Bernie’s gotten the attention of Hillary, who’s already making disparaging remarks about the self-avowed Democrat Socialist. Even MSNBC’s 74-year-old senior talk show host Chris Matthews got into the act, ranting about Bernie’s “socialism.” Matthews ranted on his nightly talk show about Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and other Latin American socialists all presiding over failed states. Matthews knows that Bernie’s version of Democratic Socialism is akin to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, during which Social Security was passed.
At last night’s ABC Debate in Nashua, New Hampshire, Bernie found himself mobbed by six other candidates, including Biden, for his socialism, something the Party thinks won’t play well against Trump in the general election. But there’s zero evidence that Bernie would not run well against Trump, considering he’s the only candidate other that Mayor Pete that galvanizes the youth vote. It’s ironic that the oldest candidate in the race appeals to young voters more that any other candidate, especially with his plans to retire student debt, pay for college tuition and provide universal health care for some 36 million uninsured Americans. Unlike other candidates, Bernie’s been living-and-breathing his campaign promises since entering politics serving as the 37th mayor of Burlington, Vermont April 6, 1981. “I remember the Cold War,” Matthews said, raising doubts about Bernie.
Bernie’s fellow Democrat rivals don’t know what to do with his popularity and populist appeal. Like Trump, he’s a populist, whose campaign rhetoric gets audiences fired up about the injustices seen in today’s American society. Bernie wins high praise for raising the issue of the wealth-gap, feeding millionaires-and-billionaires at the expense of ordinary citizens. Bernie’s Medicare-for-all proposal was ridiculed by Biden, claiming it would bankrupt the country. Bernie’s been clear how he intends to fund universal health care in the U.S.: Raising taxes on billionaires and corporations that currently pay no taxes. Yet all six other Democrat candidates attack Bernie as a pie-in-the-sky dreamer, whose proposals would never get passed in a divided Congress. Dwelling on Bernie’s socialism misses the point that he favors a European-style social safety net for U.S. citizens.
After Matthews ragged on Sanders, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes tried to find common ground, talking about Bernie’s interest in the Denmark model. “He’s pretty clearly in the Denmark category,” Hayes said. Matthews objected. “Is he? Really? How do you know? Did he tell you that?” Matthews asked Hayes. “Well that’s what he says and that’s what his agenda calls for,” Hayes replied, supporting Bernie. Bernie’s own rivals have decided to out-Trump him, accusing him of things that misrepresent his views on major issues facing the 2020 campaign. Sanders looks poised to win New Hampshire on Tuesday, Feb. 11. While Sanders seems to galvanize audiences, Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warrant (D-Mass) don’t seem to generate much enthusiasm. Only Buttigieg commands the kind of interest that draws larger crowds. Unlike other Democrat candidates, Bernie gets the biggest crowds at campaign events.
Going after Bernie has backfired for middle-of-the-road Democrats candidates like Biden and Warren who try to paint Bernie as unelectable. But if you look at the crowds Bernie draws at rallies, Biden and Warren have something to worry about. “The issue of that campaign—it is that word—socialism,” Matthews said, repeating the same thing as Trump’s political team. Bernie’s brand of Democratic Socialism, as Hayes points out, mirrors the Roosevelt’s New Deal, expanding the government’s social safety net to help to accommodate today’s needs. “Let’s see what happens,” Matthews said, not knowing what to expect if Bernie continues to steamroll. Matthews and the DNC worry that Biden, the Party’s front-runner, could lose appeal to Democrat voters. If Bernie continues to rise, the DNC would be forced to rethink its plan of relying on Biden to carry the Party in 2020.
