Never Say Never: Bernie Can Win

History tells us Never say Never.

It was conventional wisdom Ronald Reagan, because of his far-right views, could never become President.

Before him, Jimmy Carter was considered an aberration in the 1976 Democratic Presidential contest before shocking the political world by capturing the Iowa Caucuses that catapulted him to overnight credibility.

People were writing what Thomas Dewey or Hillary Clinton would do as President before they suffered shocking defeats to Harry Truman in 1948 and Donald Trump in 2016.

Bernie Sanders has some assets in his second quest for the Presidency that should not be underestimated in this polarized environment.

• He has consistent viewpoints that appeal to the masses (including people that voted for Trump) that have not changed over his decades of public service.
• He has a base of devoted supporters that will fight until their last breath for him.
• He fights and does not take fecal matter from anyone.

Does that mean Sanders is the best Democratic candidate in the Presidential field this year?

No.

Like in the Reagan and Carter primaries, there were better candidates (Howard Baker in 1980, Scoop Jackson in 1976 for example) that would have made better Presidents.

A case can be made that many Democrats currently and no longer in the 2020 field (like Klobachur, Bennet, Bullock, and Inslee) may be better Chief Executives with a greater chance of electability having longer coattails and more attainable legislative agendas.

James Carville, a backer of Bennet (and possibly Klobachur) and the architect of Bill Clinton’s 1992 victory has sounded the alarm of Democrats steering too much towards the left. He worries that a Sanders candidacy could lead to an electoral debacle whereas a more left of center candidate could win more easily and bring Democratic control of the Senate with him or her.

That said, no one should underestimate the power of Sander’s message and the strength of the base he has created.

Remember Reagan was as fringe right-wing as Sanders is fringe left and he won a landslide victory in 1980 over an unpopular President and helped end Democratic 25 year control of the Senate.

Bernie Sanders, if he gets the nomination, would face an impeached President who lost the 2016 Popular Vote, has (to date) never had a 50 percent approval rating, is an unindicted co-conspirator (Individual One), has been caught lying over 16,000 times, has broken promise after promise (where is the check from Mexico or the big infrastructure plan or the better and cheaper health care) and was the poster child for the Ku Klux Klan.

Never say Never.