Sanders campaign bracing for SC loss

[brooklynite]

The State:

COLUMBIA - Bernie Sanders’ campaign is bracing for a loss in South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary Saturday.

“I wouldn't focus on the margin because it's not going to be that close,” Ben Tulchin, Sanders’ pollster, said Tuesday of Saturday’s primary. “But we're going to make it as close as we can. ... If we had three more months, we could close the gap more.”

Considering what the U.S. senator is up against – a popular, well known frontrunner in Hillary Clinton; more conservative Democratic voters; zero name recognition at the start of the race – Sanders has done well to narrow Clinton’s lead, his campaign aides say.

Playing the long game in a race that could go until June, Sanders’ campaign is banking on proving it can win some African-American voters in South Carolina to build momentum in later voting states, aides say.

[onehandle]

1. They should get used to losses. nt

[workinclasszero]

7. Iowa and Nevada were just a tune up

SC and Super Tuesday are the main event.

Enjoy Bern fans

[CorporatistNation]

17. All Down Hill For Hillary From Here... Super Delegates Do NOT Count... It's TIED!

Only 11 states next Tuesday... NOT 22! Bernie will win some and Clinton Incorporated will win some. Proportional... ALL the negatives are growing for Hillary... Will see where we are come July! THAT is when the process will conclude... NOT before!

[workinclasszero]

19. All downhill for Hillary after SC? Really?

Guess you never heard of this little event called "Super Tuesday?"

Hillary is absolutely gonna rule in it.

[hoosierlib]

26. It should be...its stacked in her favor...

[workinclasszero]

27. True

Lots of good solid democrats down there.

[hoosierlib]

28. More like lots of AA voters who are loyal the Party machine...

Not enough time to make the inroads that he needs in order to better than 35% - 40% of the AA community votes and when they are 50% of primary voters, he's going to lose...

He'll still will between 2 - 5 states (VT, MA, OK, MN and CO) out of 12 on Tuesday...

And happily, that built advantage diminishes after the first two weeks of March and Bernie has plenty of cash, donors and grassroot supporters to keep the fight going...

Who knows what will happen in the coming weeks...

[NurseJackie]

2. As should his supporters ...

... having unrealistic and overly-optimistic expectations really has no effect on the outcome of elections. BUT, it does mean that when reality sets in, it's more difficult to accept. (Just ask the people who were at Romney's "victory" parties. Their expectations were much too high, and their crash landing was very painful for them.)

Go, Hillary! We love you!

[ladjf]

10. Thanks for the amateur psychotherapy.

(I hate to insult my favorite Clinton fan.)

[NurseJackie]

12. Ennnh.... not quite "psychotherapy" ...

... just common-sense observations of human nature. Wisdom from age and parenting.

[ladjf]

13. Isn't that what good psychiatrists do? nt

[NurseJackie]

14. I'm afraid I wouldn't know much about that.

[kstewart33]

21. Makes sense to me.

As reported on MSNBC that Bernie was so confident of an NV win that he did not prepare a concession speech, and that he believed that history would mark NV as the beginning of the Revolution, it must have hit him very hard because his expectations were so high.

[NurseJackie]

25. I saw that too. Pretty amazing if you think about it.

It's always a good idea to ...

[workinclasszero]

31. He must of been shocked that the revolution didn't show up to save him

Kinda sounds like his whole plan for winning the primaries and the nomination got blown out of the water in Nevada.

So whats the no-revolution plan I wonder?

[BernieforPres2016]

39. You probably remember the feeling from 2008

When Hillary's inevitable march to the Democratic nomination and the White House melted down versus Obama. Why do you need to reference Romney when you have personal experience?

[NurseJackie]

45. You probably know less about me than you imagine.

BernieforPres2016
39. You probably remember the feeling from 2008

When Hillary's inevitable march to the Democratic nomination and the White House melted down versus Obama. Why do you need to reference Romney when you have personal experience?

Why? Because that's what it reminds me of.

[bklyncowgirl]

3. I think that the question will be not if he loses but by how much and of course who turns out.

If Sanders can retain his advantage among white liberals, white working class voters and Hispanics and take away enough younger and less traditional African-Americans from Clinton to blunt here edge among that demographic then the results will be close enough for him to claim a victory of a sort.

Lowering expectations and then saying that we lost by less than we thought we would therefore we won is a tried and true campaign tactic.

[bklyncowgirl]

34. Clinton will win some, Sanders will win some

In the end the winner will have to win over the other candidate's supporters. Condescending attitudes on either side--and both sides are equally guilty--as your snarky remarks complaining about the snarky comments of Sanders' supporters amply demonstrates--do not help.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. As much as I would like to gloat my better angels call on me not to do so.

That being said I do expect the attacks on Madame Secretary and her supporters to grow, if that's even imaginable, and I intend to defend her, them, and myself to the best of my abilities.

[asuhornets]

15. I'll help defend as well..

[Skwmom]

5. Clinton is popular with the Democrats, not with Independents. But then again the Democratic Party

has made it clear - Independents are not welcome.

[SidDithers]

9. Shouldn't it be Democrats who select the Democratic nominiee in the Democratic primary?...nt

Sid

[Skwmom]

11. If they want to lose in the general election. n/t

[workinclasszero]

32. No Sid

Democrats were expected to be blown away and pushed aside by the Bernie revolution.

However things didn't go as planned.

The revolution died in the Nevada desert and was buried in an unmarked grave.

Unloved and not missed by most.

[kstewart33]

22. Bingo.

I think there's polling analysis that supports stopbush's view (wish I could find it).

[lunamagica]

36. + 1

[morningfog]

6. It will be a big loss. Hopefully under 15 points.

Ideally under 10, but I don't think that is going to happen.

Fortunately, March 1 is just three days later, so the SC loss will not be THE story for too long.

[Gothmog]

8. Sanders is not contesting South Carolina now

[kstewart33]

23. He's doing the right thing.

Focusing on states where he has a real chance of winning.

[Gothmog]

35. I do not care but this supports my concern about Sanders being viable in general election

One of the reasons why I am supporting Clinton over Sanders is that I am concerned that Sanders is not electable in a general election contest where the Kochs will be spending $887 million, the RNC candidate may be spending another billion dollars and M. Bloomberg (who will only run if Sanders is the nominee) will be spending another billion dollars. Sanders small donor fundraising net work is not as strong as President Obama' net work and for 2012 President Obama had to rely on a super pac.

[6chars]

40. I don't think it signals much about the general election

Right now, Hillary seems to have a bit more support from the party infrastructure than Bernie does. In a general election, whoever the candidate is will have that support.

[kstewart33]

41. Agree.

I just don't see that Bernie is electable, and the subsequent deep Democratic down-ballot losses is one reason why I support Clinton.

[Gothmog]

42. As a Texas Democrat, I agree

Sanders would kill down ballot candidates in Texas

[BernieforPres2016]

44. That's strange

I thought that was Bernie at the rally I attended in Greenville, SC on Sunday night. And I thought that Town Hall debate on CNN last night that included Bernie was in South Carolina.

[PonyUp]

47. It was an imposter! n/t

[Betty Karlson]

20. No, actually they are enjoying three recent endorsements from PoC lawmakers in SC.

But please, keep wishing.

[Octafish]

24. Money can buy votes.

Does it insure loyalty, too?

[lunamagica]

37. Ask JEB!

[BillZBubb]

29. "Bracing", no losing SC was a foregone conclusion. It's a conservative state.

Hillary is the conservative Democrat in the race. She'll do well in ALL the southern states. Bernie won't and his team knows it. They are prepared for this.

Super Tuesday will be good for Clinton, bad for Sanders and bad for Democratic chances in November. But, it isn't the end of the campaign. Soon, the primaries move northward and that's where Hillary is very vulnerable. The corporatist modus operandi won't sell so well there.

[justiceischeap]

33. This is one of my issues with Sanders in the general election

For the Democratic Party to win the General Election, we need a to appeal to a wide variety of Democrats.

Sanders definitely appeals to the younger generation but doesn't do well in conservative states. I don't see Sanders having the ability to turn purple states blue, whereas Clinton could.

So far, Sanders is not doing well with minority groups. Clinton does well here.

Sanders seems to do better with Independents, but I haven't seen polling on this for Clinton, so I don't know how that would play out in the General.

I just don't think, nationally, right now, Sanders wins the General. If Sanders gets the nomination, does he have the war chest needed to fight what will most certainly be very loud Republican smears on his Democratic Socialism plus pour funds into the down ticket races to help pull some Democrats with him to the White House.

I'm voting for whomever the Democratic nominee is but the above issues are some of my current concerns about how things could play out.

[BillZBubb]

46. You've got it exactly backwards.

Neither Hillary of Bernie are going to win the solid red states--not one them. Hillary can sweep all the Democratic primaries there, but it doesn't make on bit of difference in the general election.

Hillary is unpopular with independents in all states. He negative numbers are the highest of any candidate--I repeat ANY candidate. She's going to cost us any chance to turn the undecided states blue.

Sanders, on the other hand, has a good chance of pulling in enough indies to win a few of them and that is all we need to get 270 EVs.

[Orsino]

30. I prefer to think of it as "winning fewer delegates." n/t

[CorkySt.Clair]

43. Just wait until people get to know Bernie

And also, wait until the Killer Mike endorsement kicks in. That will happen any day now.

Hillary is toast!

[mhatrw]

48. More of the puerile "analysis" our corporate media loves

All about the horse race and nothing about the ideas or the records of the "horses" or how these ideas and records would affect the people the "horses" are supposedly racing for.