Sunday, April 24, 2016

They're still asking Bernie to quit and we know why

The other day, I saw an interview Bernie Sanders gave to MSNBC. Every question was a leading question, dripping with the implied statement that, "it's over". They wanted to know if he would consider toning it down since Hilary is the presumed nominee. They wanted to know if he would consider running as VP to Hilary. They wanted to know if he would urge his supporters to back Hilary. It went on and on like that, but not necessarily in that order.

That is what I've come to expect from highly paid journalists who may or may not have a financial interest in seeing Hilary win. I know that the 90% of the major media, some like to call "mainstream media" is owned by 6 parent corporations. And we all know who they want for president: Hilary or a Republican. Anyone but Bernie would do.

The nomination for the Democratic Party is far from over. There is much to consider before Bernie even considers dropping his bid for the nomination. For example, of the primaries we've had so far, he's won 17 and Hilary has won 14. But it's so over, isn't it?


They're not that far apart unless, like the mainstream media, you add all the superdelegates that Hilary lobbied before Bernie even announced his nomination and all those that chipped after each loss in the primaries.

Wall Street loves Hilary compared to Bernie. Wall Street gave Hilary lots of money and has no love for Bernie - he doesn't want their money. He wants your vote and your money to fund his campaign and $27 is enough. The mainstream media is owned by Wall Street, for who else owns their stock and sits on their boards of directors?

There is this "official ballot" that was mailed out in Pennsylvania, just days before the election:


Most people can see that this is political advertising. But it's marked as an official ballot, and of course, Bernie is not on the ballot. That's part of how we know it's not a real ballot. It's not easy to figure out who "Caring Philadelphia" is. Who produced this? If they think their candidate is so strong, why leave Bernie off their sample ballot?

I think this meme says it all:


There are people who say that Bernie has no chance. But the math says that it's harder for Hilary to prevent a contested convention than for Bernie to be ahead of her in the pledged delegate count when the Democratic Convention opens in July. There is at least one statistician who says that a contested convention is almost certain based on the numbers so far.

Lastly, Gallup polling has shown American perceptions about how favorable they view either Bernie or Hilary have changed over the last 8 months. She went from a commanding 63% favorable to the mid-30s. At the same time, perceptions of Bernie have been trending up to 52%. Bernie clearly has the upper hand as people get to know him more. Bernie now has a 16 point lead over Hilary - Americans have a far more favorable view of Bernie than they do of Hilary.

Bernie has said he is committed to go all the way to the convention. He's never wavered from that commitment and I hope to see him there, at the convention, making a strong case for his nomination. At best, he will win the nomination before the convention. There will be no coronation for Hilary.

He has no reason to quit now. The mainstream media can stop asking him about quitting and accept him for who he is: a viable and competitive candidate for president.

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