How Sanders Could Win

How might a commie-loving nut-job become our next president? Although it seems unlikely at the moment, a Sanders victory is hardly unthinkable. Just do the math. At present the popular vote splits down the middle while the electoral map tilts ever-so-precariously red; national elections are therefore a toss-up. Trump would likely win if the election were held tomorrow, mainly because the economy is doing so well, at least on the surface. We’ll put aside the unpleasant fact that these supposed boom times have not alleviated fatal levels of public and private debt even slightly and that many trillions of investment dollars have been recklessly pumped into the shares of companies that either produce nothing, lose money or both.

Now suppose young adults do something they’ve never done before: show up at the polls in droves. If their turnout were phenomenal, as well it might be, that could swing the election to Crazy Bernie. Why would millennials Uber to grimy urban voting stations when they could be enjoying the day doing what they love — i.e., washing down wedges of inventively seasoned avocado toast with mango-flavored hard seltzer as they swap climate-change horror stories?

Bolsheviks at Heart

Well, this time they’ve got a powerful reason to vote, since they sense that their huge cohort, nominal taxpayers between the ages of 23 and 37, comprises the biggest generation of economic losers America has ever produced. This has made them political zealots, fired up with such vengefulness as only middle-class, self-perceived have-nots could possess. They are Bolsheviks at heart, ignorant of the blessings capitalism has bestowed on them, and not given to pondering the destructive logic of Bernie’s crackpot economic schemes.

In my doomsday scenario, stocks are topping as I write these words and about to enter the Mother of All Bear Markets. If this happens and it takes the economy down by mid-summer, putting a Trump win in jeopardy, Bernie would become much more electable. The mere perception of this would cause stocks to fall even harder, further raising his odds. A catastrophic feedback loop of this sort is no more or less likely than a bear market itself. They do happen, and the next is arguably long overdue.

  • Eddie February 21, 2020, 2:42 pm

    Reading your article gives me chills down my spine. I am thinking the same way which is scary. In my line of work i get to meet people from all kinds of life here in US and from abroad and i get to hear their way of thinking. Call me what you want for prejudging people but, i see this “me too”, “me first”,” i’m entitled” type of thinking more often than not…..and you cannot tell them any different!!!
    If you think , arguing with a smart person is hard….try arguing with an idiot!!.
    Yes, i could see how this potential new voter class, come out and vote for “crazy Bernie”

  • Ben February 21, 2020, 4:32 am

    Bernie isn’t going to be the democrat nominee. Moneyberg will, laughable debate performance notwithstanding. He has money. The DNC loves money. He’ll give them what they crave and viola… Bloomberg vs Trump.

    But even if Bernie gets the nomination and doesn’t croak before election day, democrats will have to retain the House, gain the Senate, remove all the Federal judges appointed by Trump, and somehow unbalance the Supreme Court with lefty activists. In order to do ALL of that — and no less — they’ll have to get passed tens of millions of heavily armed citizens.

    Of course, this coronavirus could change a lot of that… including, possibly, removing Bernie from the running altogether, since covid-19 is harder on old people with heart problems.

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    You touch on a key point, Ben — that unless the Democrats take the Senate too, political decisions in a Sanders presidency would be at a standstill for four years. Even so, it’s hard to imagine a lunatic like Sanders not doing serious damage to this country if he were to be given the reins of power. Re-regulating America would become his top priority. RA

    • Ben February 21, 2020, 11:57 pm

      Rick,

      Yeah, Bernie would use his pen, alright. But again, now we have more Federal judges to challenge and, yes, obstruct the dems with, just like they do with us. I heard even the ultra-lib 9th Circuit isn’t AS activist as it was, just a few years back.

      That shows Trump is well aware that he may lose, so has prepared America’s Plan B, well in advance. But Plan A itself is not economic performance. Whatever the economy does, there’s still the key issues. Most want borders and standards, regarding illegal and legal immigration. They also like having a first and second amendment. So many are TIRED of all the PC mobs, endless screaming victim narratives, children playing experts and giving orders… that have become the trademark of the democRat Party, both left and “moderate”.

      Trump’s Plan A has always been about issues that Americans have been saying matter to them, not just the economy. And that’s what will more than likely get him re-elected. He’s not invincible, but… He’s got a solid Plan A and Plan B. Can’t hope for more than that! All any democrat candidate has, on the other hand, is the same old “Free sht!” platform they’ve been hawking since… longer than I can remember! And if they’re relying on marxist millennials, well, that generation is smaller than Gen-X and the boomers. They’re of the 1.5 children per couple generation. That smaller demographic is also concentrated in university towns and urban centers… an advantage which the Electoral College has already neutralized, as always it has.

      No, from my perspective, the only way Trump loses is if American-loving voters don’t turn out to vote. And looking at the latest coronavirus numbers and breaking news… that could happen. It affects older people more, and males more than females. There’s been talk among the health authorities and professionals, saying this may well become as endemic and seasonal as the cold and flu. One never knows…

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      Thanks for your insightful post, Ben. At a gut level, imputing to most voters my own fears concerning the existential threat that the progressive agenda poses to America, I see Trump winning by a landslide. And yet, I still wonder whether the irresistible lure of free stuff will coax those who have seldom voted in the past to the polls in unprecedented numbers. My optimistic view is that even a unified millennial bloc would not overcome the new millions of working stiffs, including economically rejuvenated black and brown voters, who have finally seen the light. RA