Reflections on Super Tuesday: Americans Don't Want a Socialist

Lessons From Super Tuesday: America Doesn’t Want A Socialist Maine and Texas are too close to call as I write this blog, but it doesn’t matter. Many lessons emerge from Super Tuesday, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Democracy can be messy. You just don’t know how voters will vote or predict the upsets.. America doesn’t want a socialist. Progressive does not equal progressive. Massachusetts and Minnesota are progressive, usually solidly blue states. Joe Biden won them, as well as Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Virginia. That’s quite a cross section of America. The Vice President led in pre-season polls, but was fourth in Iowa and New Hampshire. He had no money. He gave limited campaign rallies and press conference. His handlers were keeping Joe on a short leash. In short Joe Biden was dead man walking. Senator Sanders was running away with the nomination. Feel the Bern! The Senator had an army of young supporters. He was the authentic candidate. He’s the same socialist, communist loving, USSR honey mooning radical as in the 1960’s. He still loves Fidel Castro. That’s not a winning issue in Florida. Most Americans didn’t like the Berm. More lessons: 1) Senator Sanders won New Hampshire and proceeded to praise Fidel Castro and Cuba, not to mention Hugo Chavez and Venezuela. Polls show a large percent of the voters decided in the past two days. They heard the Senator praising Castro. 2) The Democrats were running on identity politics. The two surviving candidates Biden and Sanders are old white males and career politicians. Sanders is 78 and Biden 77. 3) The Black vote helped Biden in South Carolina and the other Southern states, but so too did the White vote in those states. 4) Once again, money alone can’t win it. Governor Jeb Bush had $100 million entering primary season four years ago. Secretary Hillary Clinton outspent Donald Trump 3:1. Trump won. 5) Tom Steyer dropped between $150-250 million and Michael Bloomberg $500-600 million so far. Steyer’s out and Bloomberg is reconsidering. 6) Likability still counts. Bernie is Bernie and Joe is Good Old Joe. They are who they are. 7) Democrats want to defeat President Trump. The odds are better with Biden than Sanders 8) If Biden wins the nomination, then once again the Democrats will have nominated an ethically challenged candidate 9) Can either Biden or Sanders make it through the next 8 months? 10) I’m sorry Senator Klobuchar didn’t gain traction. Will she be the VP nominee? 11) And then there’s Senator Elizabeth Warren, who came in a resounding third in her state of Massachusetts. As Dandy Don Meredith used to sing on Monday Night Football, “The party’s over” What will Kate McKinnon do next on SNL? 12) If Vice President Biden wins the nomination, he will be the first since seemingly forever to win without winning either Iowa or New Hampshire, or even coming in second in those states 13) Upset winners in the Iowa Caucus get a close look by Americans. Governor Carter and Senator Obama sealed the deal with the American people after Iowa. Mayor Pete Buttigieg failed. 14) After all the hesitation, the Establishment coalesced on Joe Biden as the anti-Sanders 15) All the criticism of Iowa and New Hampshire, especially Iowa, the two states served their purpose of winnowing the field by providing up close scrutiny of the candidates 16) Michael Bloomberg failed the Governor Rick Perry Test. If the public doesn't know who you are, don't blow your first debate. 17) Both Mayor Buttigieg and Representative Beto O'Rourke admitted to White Privilege - not a winning platform in a majority white country.