Please put me, a lifelong social democrat, in Joe Biden's column.

[sandensea]

Super Tuesday, besides its yooge delegate haul, marks the end of the test drive.

Elizabeth Warren was my first choice. As her campaign faltered, I considered backing Bernie.

Bernie has earned our respect not only through his bold, tireless campaign; but most of all through the seismic policy shift in the Democratic Party - and American public opinion - that he has already created.

He has already made history.

But as any social democrat anywhere could tell them, you can bring a lot more positive change about in a coalition with socially-conscious centrists like Joe Biden.

Biden just showed us he still has what it takes to win: to be the Killer Joe we need.

Yes: running as a "socialist" isn't the deal-breaker it was 20 or 30 years ago - but is it worth trying to find out?

Not this time, my fellow social democrats. Not this time.

[Thekaspervote]

1. One more for the win!! Orange man be gone

[sandensea]

2. That's the ticket!

The test drive really is over.

I may sympathize more with Bernie and Liz - but we are now, in effect, in general election mode.

[42bambi]

3. OMG -- I'm so looking forward to NEVER seeing that FACE - ever again.!

[sandensea]

5. Your words to God's ear

What you just said, is JOB ONE and JOB ONE MILLION.

Anyone who isn't a drooling fascist, we must coalesce to defeat those who (sadly) are.

[brewens]

4. I said after the last election, I wanted someone with a lot of Bernies ideas, but not

Bernie. That could have been Warren had Bernie not been in the race. She should have stuck to single payer, but come up with details on how people wouldn't lose the part of their pay medical insurance represents. That's what they like, not really the plan they have. It has to be better coverage than most have, and employers still have to pay for it one way or another.

[sandensea]

8. As Yavin4 pointed out, he made made too many mistakes to defeat Fuhrer Drumpf (THE task here)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287627994

To those, I'd add his stubborn insistence on calling himself a "democratic socialist" - when, like myself, he's a social democrat.

Besides being a lot more palatable to voters, it's more accurate in his case.

Yooge difference!

[brewens]

10. I would have said democratic socialist too awhile back, but you are correct. I usually just

call myself a liberal.

[sandensea]

12. If I had a dollar for every time someone told Bernie to refer to himself as a 'social democrat'!

But he's stubborn.

And there's no room for error here.

[dansolo]

13. Warren needed her own plan

She made a big mistake by going all in on Bernie's plan. She could have found a spot between Bernie and the moderates. I think her advisers doomed her campaign by not playing to her strengths. If she came up with her own unique plan, she could have contrasted herself against Bernie, instead of always being stuck in his shadow. By staying in Bernie's lane, she limited her ability to appeal to the center-left electorate who knew that M4A is unrealistic. Then all she had was Bernie supporters, who weren't going to abandon him.

[sandensea]

22. Excellent analysis.

Every primary season has slipstreamers, some them quite presidential in their own right (as was Warren's case).

Ultimately, they never find their break out moment.

All behind us now, in any case. Short of something bad and unexpected (God forbid), we have our presumptive nominee.

[CatMor]

6. That is pure evil emanating from trumps hideous face ..

our country needs Joe Biden to make America great again.

[sandensea]

9. Well said. We need the BEST BET possible.

And now that I was left with just two names (essentially), the conclusion is that while Bernie's bold - what we need is a Killer Joe.

[pandr32]

7. Go Joe!

[sandensea]

11. +1

[demigoddess]

14. yes,please!!!!!!!!!!

[sandensea]

16. Because if we don't win...

we won't just not see any new social democratic reforms, we'll lose many of many of the ones FDR, Truman, LBJ, and Obama already earned for us.

To say nothing of our democracy itself.

Bernie's a great man, and he's already changed the party.

But the voters have spoken, the test drive is over, and we have a job to do.

[blue-wave]

15. Thank You

for your reasoning and common sense. We must win this time!!!

[sandensea]

18. +1

Test drive's over. And we've got a runaway, stolen orange truck we need to stop.

[LaMouffette]

17. Thank you for your pragmatism, Sandensea!

I love Bernie's ideas, too, and voted for him in the 2016 primary, but too much is at stake in this election. If Trump is going around saying things like "They rigged the elections against Bernie!" then you just know that Bernie is Trump's hoped-for opponent. He's probably already been practicing saying "He's a socialist, folks!" without it coming out "He'sh a shoshialishth, folksh!"

[sandensea]

20. Exactly. Too much is at stake here.

Our phones and calendars may say March 4th - but it's really October 4th, you know?

There's a madman we need to stop, and I'm convinced Killer Joe can do this better than anyone.

[geardaddy]

19. Elizabeth was my first choice, too.

I voted for her in yesterday's MN primary.

I am now firmly in the Biden camp.

[sandensea]

21. I hear you.

The primaries are essentially over. It's time to switch to general election mode; to come together.

I am - and I'm not exactly the fastest gun in the west.

[geardaddy]

23. You said it.

I want unity. In 2016 (and I was a Bernie supporter) I jumped on the Clinton bandwagon as soon as he left the race. We have to keep the eye on the prize.

[IronLionZion]

24. I'm with you

At this point Joe might get us more of Bernie and Liz's policies implemented, especially if he can deliver a blue wave to take the Senate too.

No M4A this time, but I sure hope we can get a public option for our lower income workers left out of employer plans who can't afford ACA plans. I hope we can get some sensible gun laws, and some progress on economic and social issues. Joe has a way of getting laws passed.

I'll still sport the Liz Warren badge on DU and vote for her in my primary but I'm all in for Joe Biden for the general election without any doubts or reservations. Liz knows all this, she just wants to advance progressive policy at this point. She also achieved a major victory for our party and Biden by taking Bloomberg out. I'm confident she'll endorse Biden at the convention and bring in unity from the more sensible social democrats and leftists who want to defeat Trump.

[sandensea]

33. Well said: MORE of Bernie and Liz's policies implemented

At the end of the day, that's what these decisions are all about: what can we get done, and who's best positioned to do so.

Politics. The art of the possible.

[ace3csusm]

25. Let Make America Normal Again (MANA)

Its MANA time

[William769]

43. +1

[Luciferous]

26. And what will the excuse be the next time? We will never get real change until we elect someone

like Sanders or Warren.

[Turin_C3PO]

30. Bernie's going to have

to learn to build coalitions if he wants to win. You can’t insult all of your prospective allies and then hope to gain their support. He’s burnt too many bridges.

[sandensea]

31. I hear you.

I wish Liz had gotten more traction - but she didn't.

I wish Bernie had been referring to himself as a 'social democrat' - not 'democratic socialist'.

But he wouldn't.

And, while not the kryptonite it was a generation ago, that one mistake might just give Orange Amin a second term. Bernie's results thus far show that it's a heavy lift even among many Democrats.

Look: Without being a Democrat, Bernie's already remade the Democratic Party. He has already made history.

And he can still make so much more of it! So much pluralist, humanist change - but only if Cheeto's defeated.

The primaries were great - probably the most interesting ever. But we're essentially in general election season now.

The Rethugs certainly are.

[Luciferous]

35. Yeah, I'll admit that Warren was my first choice and I was really disappointed

she didn't do better. I'll vote for Biden if he's the nominee but I have to say that the gloating and the Bernie bashing around here is really disgusting.

[sandensea]

40. +1

I don't like reading it either.

Whatever his faults, Bernie has already brought about so much positive, necessary change within the Democratic Party - so much that didn't seem possible even a decade ago.

A Biden presidency, if that's how this turns out, will definitely give him a seat at the table.

A second term of Orange Goering?

Fuhgedabouit.

[Pepsidog]

28. Killer Joe- I like that.

[sandensea]

34. He proved he still has what it takes.

It surprised me - and it'll surprise Orange Goering.

Bigly.

[Karadeniz]

29. You hit every nail on its head!❤ Thanks for the lucid analysis...we are twins!

[sandensea]

37. Why, thank you. Likewise!

[Walleye]

32. "Killer Joe" great song by Benny Golson and Art Farmer

https://m.

[sandensea]

36. Save that link!

I want to see it on the Video feed on November 3rd.

[Walleye]

38. Some lyrics

I’ve never heard it with lyrics but this from google “This here's the story about Killer Joe
He's a real bad cat, forget I told you so
Silk on the corners of his fancy threads
Double breasted pin stripe coat top press
Fast talkin' good looking flim flam jive
Why he's the kind o' cat that'll make a dead man cry
So look out for Killer Joe!
Killer Joe - Killer Joe”

[sandensea]

42. Sweet! Visualize....

that tune, at the Inaugural Gala next January!

It's either that, Cheeto shimmying to 'No One Tells the President What To Do' by the Olsen sisters.

[Walleye]

44. It really would be a big fucking deal.

[sandensea]

45. YOOGE, too.

[IndyOp]

39. Thank you for the respect you are showing Bernie - he has already

moved mountains. He is deserving of tremendous respect.

It must be beyond lousy to hear most Democrats insulting you 24/7.

The growth of Our Revolution has been really impressive - I pray that Bernie will work his way through this and remain the brilliant and (I think) most morally consistent actor in the Senate for decades.

[sandensea]

41. +1

He - and Liz Warren - have so many ideas and proactive change still to contribute.

The key to that, will be defeating Orange Goering - the sine qua non, if we are to get anything positive done.

[Demsrule86]

46. Welcome aboard....

[sandensea]

47. Thank you.

I had told myself that Super Tuesday should be my own decision day - the end of the test drive, so to speak.

Joe's performance - and his gracious, compelling speech last night - really helped convince me that he was, in fact, the candidate most likely to make it happen for us on November.

Which is the most important thing here (need I say!).

But so did weeks of reading the many well-considered arguments right here on DU. DU'ers helped me decide - me and many other voters, I'm sure.

Let's get'er done.



Bye Don.