MoveOn email: "No one thought this was possible"

[Bernin4U]

Dear MoveOn member,

We're writing for two reasons:

1. MoveOn members overwhelmingly voted to endorse Bernie Sanders.
2. It's now looking like Bernie can win Iowa and New Hampshire—and if he does, the whole race changes.

Bernie's neck and neck in Iowa and has a narrow lead in New Hampshire.1,2

He really can win both. Our first challenge is to win Iowa. To pull it off, the next 12 days are crucial.

MoveOn’s 40,000 members in Iowa could determine whether Bernie Sanders wins or loses the state. If he wins, it’ll send shockwaves through the media, show that the time has come for his message, and give him incredible momentum going into New Hampshire and beyond.

Anyone else get this email, and find the title just a little condescending?

Not a big deal, really. And I appreciate the content, as I believe in the idea of "stay hungry, always play as if you're a goal down, no such thing as a comfortable lead, etc".

Just that this kind of title, while expected from the tone-deaf MSM, who are so busy falling over themselves to sweep the "Bernie could never win" statements under the rug, has no place coming from MoveOn.

Really, of your 78% of membership who voted to endorse Bernie, none of us believed he'd possibly be doing this well at this point?

[Ed Suspicious]

1. I agree that many of us were fighting for this so yeah, we had an idea this could happen. I think

they might be simply pointing to momentum. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Bernin4U]

5. No, not worried, just seems a little beneath them.

Wiki says the odds in winning the lottery (6/49 game) are 1 in 13,983,816. I'm pretty sure they won't promote their games with "No one thinks it's possible, but..."

I would like to think that the vast majority of that 78% has believed from the beginning that Bernie could very well pull an upset (of course no question he's not considered the favorite) here. Just as Obama did 8 years ago. (And yes, we're well aware he's not Obama 1.2, except for where it actually matters: the ability to generate enthusiasm.)

Just saying, such a subject line would be expected from the rapidly-backpeddling "lamestream", but MoveOn is normally much smarter than that.

[mikehiggins]

2. no one thought this was possible, indeed.

I have no problem with the opening sentence. I didn't believe it when this started either. No one with any experience in politics would have believed it possible.

What the Sanders campaign has done SO FAR is unbelievable and the pundits and experts and establishment politicians are as shaken up as any other pile of ants when you did them up.

Just imagine how much worse this will be when he closes in on the nomination. Just wait until you hear he has a love child and twists the heads off of kittens. Stuff like that is coming.

But so is the inaugeration.

Believe

[Bernin4U]

6. Yourself maybe, but, "No one thought?"

Of course, people will be all over the spectrum of what they think/thought his chances are. For one person to say that he/she didn't think it possible is one thing. But to say, "I think this way, therefore everyone else must think it, too?" Isn't that, at best, really arrogant?

I don't mind that the HRC campaign apparently didn't learn a lot from 07/08. But the rest of the world? Was it that long ago? How many times would big upsets need to happen before they stop becoming "impossible"?

And the, ahem, "experts"? All I can say to that is, must be great to have a job where you get paid so well for being so wrong so often.

Maybe if we're really lucky (I won't be holding my breath, however), they'll soon wake up and realize their paradigms are shit. In high tech, things can and do come out of nowhere, and go from zero to 1000, practically in the blink of an eye. Seems like these "experts" need to give the 21st century a try.

Of course things are only going to get rougher. I look forward to it!

[99th_Monkey]

3. Bernie himself admits as much

Do you recall that story about Bernie arriving at one of his first rallies, and he saw this
massive crowd on the street, and he asked the driver, "what the hell's going on, with all
these people?" He initially thought there was some other explanation, than that they were
all there thrilled to see him getting into the Democratic Primary race.

[Bernin4U]

7. Exacty! Exactly why it should NOT be such a surprise, let alone "impossible".

If Bernie -wasn't- filling stadiums, if he -wasn't- breaking records for funding and support, all through the summer and fall, if he was greeted only with cobwebs and crickets, AND he was running against someone who enjoyed tremendous popular support, had a history of running air-tight campaigns, etc, then yes, we should all be very surprised.

But even then, "surprised" is an loooonnnggg way from the black hole of "nobody thought it possible."

We don't know that the Vogons aren't busy clearing the way for a hyperspace bypass, and will be blowing up the earth in 2 hours. But we do know that you can't say no one in the entire world believes it will end soon.

[libdem4life]

4. I think the title referred to Bernie doing well on the national stage...and was a very good

reason to congratulate its own members. Liberal organizations were pretty much a lock...if they allowed their members to vote. Just my take.

[Autumn Colors]

8. I think "no one" didn't mean just MoveOn members

I think it refers to the country in general, the media, etc. You can't deny that in the beginning, Bernie, was pretty much ignored and was labeled unelectable. I think it's referring to how far he's come (in terms of the numbers of people supporting him) in the months since he announced his candidacy ... it really has been amazing (and wonderful) to watch.

I think you're reading too much into this and that "no one" means the population in total, not just MoveOn members.

[Bernin4U]

9. Ohh, I get it. The proverbial "they!"

Such as, a coach giving the team a pregame pep talk: "THEY said we'd never come this far. That we don't have the talent. Or the stamina. Or the heart. THEY said we have no chance even to make the playoffs, let alone all the way to the finals. But we did, didn't we? Yes, here we are, in the finals. Now THEY are saying we have no chance to win tonight...."

Do you mean like that?

Sure, that's a fine message. Telling those who are succeeding under adversity that they're proving the doubters to be wrong.

Unfortunately it's not what MoveOn said. Again, not to make too big a deal of it. But it's just a very poor choice of wording, if the intent is to speak in generalities (which is something I actually have no problem with).

For MoveOn to tell me that, wow, the rest of the world is catching up to my/our thinking, so thanks for being a part and making it happen, is great.

But what they're really telling me (based on actual wording) is that no one, not you or me or any other person in the world, was clever or insightful enough to actually believe the current reality was possible.

[Autumn Colors]

10. You seem to be the only person in this thread interpreting it this way

Have a nice evening.