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Democrats United States Politics

Bernie Sanders Drops Out of the 2020 Race, Clearing Joe Biden's Path To the Democratic Nomination (cnn.com) 701

Sen. Bernie Sanders ended his presidential campaign on Wednesday, clearing Joe Biden's path to the Democratic nomination and a showdown with President Donald Trump in November. From a report: Sanders first made the announcement in a call with his staff, his campaign said. "I wish I could give you better news, but I think you know the truth, and that is that we are now some 300 delegates behind Vice President Biden, and the path toward victory is virtually impossible," Sanders said in a livestream after the call. "So while we are winning the ideological battle and while we are winning the support of so many young people and working people throughout the country, I have concluded that this battle for the Democratic nomination will not be successful. And so today I am announcing the suspension of my campaign."

Sanders' exit caps a stunning reversal of fortune following a strong performance in the first three states that voted in February. The nomination appeared his for the taking until, on the last day of February, Biden surged to a blowout victory in South Carolina that set off a consolidation of moderate voters around the former vice president. The contest ends now as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, which halted in-person campaigning for both Sanders and Biden and has led many states to delay their primary elections."

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Bernie Sanders Drops Out of the 2020 Race, Clearing Joe Biden's Path To the Democratic Nomination

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  • Wunnerful (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Snotnose ( 212196 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @02:33PM (#59922078)
    Last time we had a choice between a corrupt politician who should be in prison, and a corrupt businessman who should be in prison. Now we replace the corrupt politician with a senile one.

    Isn't our primary system just great?
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by mi ( 197448 )

      with a senile one

      ... who should be in prison [realclearpolitics.com].

      Fixed it for you...

      • Re:Wunnerful (Score:5, Insightful)

        by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:02PM (#59922226) Homepage Journal
        I was just thinking....the virus may be the best thing for Biden's hopes on winning presidency.

        Right now...he is NOT in the spotlight.

        He is no longer on the trail...no longer showing what has appeared over recent months, to be somewhat of a decline in mental acuity.

        I've followed Joe a good while....and sure, he has made gaffes, that's one thing and you can explain or spin your way out of most any but the most aggregious ones and I'm not holding that against him really.

        But it seems his campaign, before the virus hit, was having to limit his public speaking events as much as possible to 7 min or less.

        He's been seen just talking and losing total track of thought, which occasionally happens to us all, but this has become quite regular it seems.

        When this happens, he has either just started trailing off and going silent...or just starting to talk nonsense, things that just don't go together.

        That worries me, because this is not the Joe Biden of old.

        I've been shocked seeing at least a couple times back, him getting very agitated and angry at his own supporters when asking questions that he might not like.....the "lying dogfaces pony soldier" was an example of a very strange encounter.

        Anyway, the virus keeps Joe out of the speaking spotlight and that might bode well for him.

        He may not even have to debate Trump 1-on-1 very much if at all.....

        Trump is far from a prolific speaker, he rambles, but it's different with him, you don't see him searching for words like I've seen Biden do recently.

        Anyway...this virus is going to make this election season VERY different and interesting.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          He could make Warren his VP and that would seem like a great outcome. He is trusted and she has much better thought out methods to get things done. I can think of FAR worse outcomes than that.

          • Re:Wunnerful (Score:5, Insightful)

            by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:28PM (#59922444) Homepage Journal

            He could make Warren his VP and that would seem like a great outcome. He is trusted and she has much better thought out methods to get things done

            While I agree that it would likely be politically beneficial for him to select a woman as a VP running mate, I would argue against Warren as that candidate!!

            Warren is not likable and her views/goals were proven to NOT be popular in the presidential primaries early on,

            I mean she could not even win her own state, you know?

            If Biden pulled anyone from the presidential primary files, I'd say maybe Klobuchar (sp?) might be a good one.

            He might be well served looking outside that field and going possibly for a female from the military.

            Someone with military experience might be good for the ticket, someone with personality and charisma, that is a quick thinker on her feet.

            And honestly, if she was decent looking, that wouldn't hurt.

            Yes, that would come into play....ideally she'd be attractive, but not TOO knock out beautiful as that that too would go against her.

            Anyway...I think Warren would be a poor choice and would not help the ticket.

            I think if nothing else, the Dem presidential primary proved that while the far left leaning wing of the party is a VERY vocal minority.....they still are a minority in a party that still is mostly left leaning centrist.

            I don't think the majority of the Democrat party want a revolution....no more so that the other side of the aisle.

        • by nnet ( 20306 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:19PM (#59922372) Journal

          Trump is far from a prolific speaker, he rambles, but it's different with him, you don't see him searching for words like I've seen Biden do recently.

          hahah he just makes up words to keep a flow going...Trevor Noah does a great bit featuring these made up words, makes Biden look great in comparison because this is Trump trying to read and pronounce words like a 3rd grader. Fucking embarassing really.

        • Re:Wunnerful (Score:4, Informative)

          by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:26PM (#59922424)

          And yet Trump has gaffes and lies every day, and he's constantly stumbling over his words and repeating himself. Trump is indeed searching for his words only you don't see it because he keeps rambling rather than pausing. It's also simpler because Trump only has to remember when to say "tremendous", "powerful", "greatest", and other superlative adjectives.

          Side by side, I don't see Trump winning any mental acuity battles.

        • by mi ( 197448 )

          That worries me, because this is not the Joe Biden of old.

          Joe Biden of 2008 claimed [nytimes.com], the US "kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon" — which remarkable achievement Bush ruined by failing to move NATO forces into the country...

          And this was the man sold to the country — by the Democratic Party [politico.com] and its media [nytimes.com] — as a Foreign Policy Expert [go.com]. He provided "gravitas", you see...

          The Joe Biden of much older than that was a liar [anncoulter.com] and a plagiarist [snopes.com] — still is, apparently [washingtonpost.com].

          WTF are you peddling here?

        • Re:Wunnerful (Score:5, Insightful)

          by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot.worf@net> on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @04:58PM (#59922830)

          Trump is far from a prolific speaker, he rambles, but it's different with him, you don't see him searching for words like I've seen Biden do recently.

          Trump was trained when he was younger. It's why he never uses words like "um" or "ah". Instead, his speech training basically told him what to do when he can't think of what to say next.

          It revolves around repeating the last few words you just said, which is why he can say things like "This will make them happy, really happy, they'll be so happy" - and other contentless filler - he's basically searching for what to say next, and in the mean time, where normal people would pause or "um" or "ah", his training kicks in which basically say "fill the void with words".

          So that's why he rambles - he was taught that way - never to pause or have ums and ahs. He's searching for what to say next, and in the meantime, just say something to fill the air.

          It's also possible he knows not what he just said - this was trained to him a long time ago so he probably does a lot of it unconsciously.

          It's also possible a lot of his lies that he denies, he believes in what he's saying because he didn't know what the said. When the goal is "never leave dead air" his mind went on autopilot, strung some words together and he said some things without actually realizing what he said.

          He really has no recollection of what he said because he didn't put the idea together - the words just came out of his mount like it was powered by a Markov word chain sentence generator - something that spits out words that actually oddly seem legitimate, but nonsense.

      • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

        with a senile one ... who should be in prison.

        who carried out the policy of the Senate [vox.com]and the President, which, incidentally, was the same policy as that of a host of other countries concerning the removal of the corrupt Viktor Shokin. Fixed it for you.

        The prosecutor (Lutsenko) that ran the Burisma [reuters.com] investigation says that it was a tax issue that had nothing to do with Hunter Biden.

        So what crime was committed? Be careful -- anything that you say can be used against your favorite members of the Trump family

      • No, he's fine. (Score:4, Insightful)

        by skam240 ( 789197 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:27PM (#59922428)

        Nice miss characterization. It was the US government's position as well as many of our allies that the Ukrainian prosecutor in question be fired. Biden was just doing the leg work for our government.

    • Re:Wunnerful (Score:5, Insightful)

      by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @02:46PM (#59922124)

      But what does a president do, other than bitch?

      Seems like thisnone in particular has zero power, zero control over any governmental organization.

      He hires the wrong fools, then fires them. Which means he has zero judgement ability on anything. And why was he relying on the WHO for this coronavirus thing in the first place? His idiots had no clue what's happening in Wuhan? He can't choose competent fools?

      What does a president do other than bitch? He listens to idiots, then blames them for THEIR lack of judgement rather than his own. Since when was that an acceptible thing? Why was he relying on the WHO and China in the first place?

      What does a president do, other than bitch? Listen to idiots?

      • by balbeir ( 557475 )
        He's very good at throwing people under the bus!

        What have the Romans ever done for us?

        • Re:Wunnerful (Score:5, Insightful)

          by gtall ( 79522 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:16PM (#59922344)

          Those weren't people, they were enablers. Even Mattis should have known better. Trump corrupts everything he touches. And he'll do it again with the $2 Trillion aid package. That was just too much money for him not to attempt to use for his own purposes. To do that, he needed to fire the IG in charge of seeing that he didn't siphon it off.

    • "Every nation gets the government it deserves." -- Joseph de Maistre
    • Now we replace the corrupt politician with a senile one.

      Both the Bush and Trump presidencies are clear that being of sound mind is not a pre-requisite for holding the highest office.

  • by sinij ( 911942 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @02:39PM (#59922098)
    Bernie Sanders provided us a good reminder that Democratic values of labor support and social nets were being neglected in favor of gender identity politics, globalism and open borders. Support for Sanders, especially among young voters, is a useful reminder that extremist minority within Democratic party that currently has an outsize influence is still, numerically, a minority.

    Unfortunately, any viable president has to be a unifying persona and Sanders is not it. With the current COVID situation we can see the critical importance of having president to be a respected and unifying figure that most of the country would follow. I am not ready to call Biden a desirable candidate, but he certainly is less polarizing figure than Sanders or Trump. At this point we need return to normalcy.
    • by Camel Pilot ( 78781 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:04PM (#59922240) Homepage Journal

      Democratic values of labor support and social nets were being neglected in favor of gender identity politics, globalism and open borders.

      This is very well said. Some of the liberal democrats I know are more concerned about disenfranchised men (trans women) being able to compete in women sports than if the blue-collar worker is getting a fair shake.

      • by sinij ( 911942 )

        Some of the liberal democrats I know are more concerned about disenfranchised men (trans women) being able to compete in women sports than if the blue-collar worker is getting a fair shake.

        If your goal is to increase greater good, there is a lot more blue-collar ex-workers that had their jobs outsourced than all of LGBT people in existence. So even if every LGBT person in existence is badly mistreated, the worker issue should still take priority.

        • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

          and the real problem is anyone who accepts the premise that we must choose between the two.

    • by Tyler Durden ( 136036 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @04:57PM (#59922828)

      Bernie Sanders provided us a good reminder that Democratic values of labor support and social nets were being neglected in favor of gender identity politics, globalism and open borders.

      Oh, baloney. Biden won in part because the DNC wanted a moderate candidate, not an outsider who labeled himself a socialist. The other is that those young Sanders supporters you alluded to talk a good game and then don't come out in numbers to vote.

  • by lgw ( 121541 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @02:40PM (#59922100) Journal

    With Joe Biden's obvious and progressing dementia, it's really about who get chosen to be his VP. This is shaping up to be an interesting race: Trump vs Biden's VP. I don't think there's a debate format for that yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if we get one this year.

    This opens some interesting possibilities for the Democratic party, as the VP doesn't have to be any of the candidates, it can be anybody, though it probably needs to be a woman. Does the establishment have someone behind the scenes getting prepped for this, someone they trust fully not to rock the boat, keep business as usual? If someone we've never heard of gets picked for VP, we'll know the fix is in.

    OTOH, maybe things aren't entirely corrupt and we'll get someone like Amy Klobuchar, who seems to at least have some principles and values of her own, despite being part of the establishment.

    • It'll probably be Warren if it's any of the candidates. She makes Bernie's policies seem more palatable and is capable of compromise. To the point of utterly about-facing on issues when confronted with reality.
      • by lgw ( 121541 )

        I don't think Warren is liked by the establishment, she seems to be gaming the system more than part of it, and she's a screechy harridan to boot. It certainly won't be Tulsi, she wanted actual reform.

      • by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:26PM (#59922418) Homepage Journal

        If the DNC wanted to promote Sanders' policies they could have simply supported Sanders instead of sabotaging him. That is the opposite of what they want, because they are corporate whores. Warren is all in on capitalism by her own words, and choosing her as VP is really not the same thing as promoting Sanders' policies AT ALL.

    • With Joe Biden's obvious and progressing dementia, it's really about who get chosen to be his VP.

      No it's not. Both Bush and Trump were and are able to run the country just fine with dementia. Biden is no different than Bush was, and Bush ran the damn thing for 2 terms.

      Seriously have you seen a Bush speech from when he was Governor of Texas? The man was a wordsmith. As president all he was is someone that made other's say "my word!" every time he couldn't finish a sentence.

  • by mi ( 197448 ) <slashdot-2017q4@virtual-estates.net> on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @02:43PM (#59922110) Homepage Journal

    In related news, Joe Biden drops out of the 2020 race, endorses Joe Biden.

  • Maybe we should bring some to America ...

    I wish there was a state on this planet, that was known for doing that. ...

    • Explain in detail how what has occurred with the Democratic Party nomination was not democratic.
  • We're down to two really old white guys!

    Given neither is exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, people probably need to at least think about who they'd prefer as President - Pence, or (I'm guessing) "that woman from Michigan" as Trump refers to her.

    Also, we should probably start thinking about a maximum age limit for presidential candidates.

  • by wiredog ( 43288 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @02:56PM (#59922184) Journal

    Among people under 40, who don't vote. Every other demographic he was well under 50%.

    • by hey! ( 33014 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:44PM (#59922516) Homepage Journal

      What people like about Sanders is that he is uncompromising. That also sets a hard ceiling for him as a politician.

      Success in a democracy requires building coalitions, and that requires compromises, something that as you get older you understand more. He couldn't even pick up *Warren* voters, who pretty much all lined up behind Biden.

      • "He couldn't even pick up *Warren* voters, who pretty much all lined up behind Biden."

        The majority of Warren backers I know only wanted her over Sanders because she was a woman. They continually talked about how she had a plan, but Sanders had plans for all the same shit. Most of them were women themselves. That they lined up behind creepy, rapey uncle Joe is absolutely fucking inexplicable. They went for the demented harasser instead of the consistent champion of freedom. I will never respect their politic

  • No surprise (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Aethedor ( 973725 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @02:57PM (#59922194)
    This is no surprise. Sanders was too sane and reasonable, in an almost non-American way. He was also not a creep for women. Doomed to fail for the presidency.
    • Re:No surprise (Score:4, Insightful)

      by DaveV1.0 ( 203135 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @03:17PM (#59922358) Journal

      This is no surprise. Sanders was too sane and reasonable, in an almost non-American way. He was also not a creep for women. Doomed to fail for the presidency.

      It is not reasonable to say one is going to completely change the economic landscape of a country as president when 90% of what one is proposing requires legislation that will be opposed by well over half the legislative bodies to pass said legislative bodies.

      Sanders wants to implement medicare for all, which would require legislation. That legislation will be opposed by insurance companies who lobby and contribute to parties and campaigns. Sanders wants to modify corporate tax laws which will be opposed by corporations who lobby and contribute to parties and campaigns. Sanders wants to make college free for all, colleges that are controlled by the individual states and thus it will be opposed by the individual states. Sanders wants to cancel student loan debt which, while backed by the government, is held by private financial institutions who will oppose both free college for all, canceling student loan debt, and an end to student loans. Sanders wants a wealth tax which will require legislation and will be opposed by corporate executives and members of Congress as long as they fall under it making it a tax on only the ultra rich who can afford to buy entire countries to get away from it.

      Sanders' is not reasonable. Everything Sanders has sold his most loyal supporters on can't be done without the backing of 60% of each house and he doesn't even have the backing of most of the democrats. Sanders is promising things he KNOWS he can't provide. What do we call someone who promises something that he can't provide?

      • Sounds like he had sane but un-American plans.
        • by Targon ( 17348 )

          Only if you consider, "American" to be, "screw everyone else, once I have my money everyone else can just go away and die". Bernie has always stood up for helping others and making life better for others, which does go against what both Democratic and Republican parties stand for.

      • by vix86 ( 592763 )

        I hear you and totally agree with the fact that getting Sanders' ideas through Congress was pretty much impossible. The problem is that I listen to what Biden says on like healthcare and I feel like we're all on a ship that's sinking; Sanders is suggesting tearing the ship apart to make rafts and Biden is suggesting we consider making larger buckets out of tiny portions of the ship. The status quo does nothing if the whole system is broke.

        The only thing I'm holding out for now is that this pandemic might sh

      • Re:No surprise (Score:4, Insightful)

        by penandpaper ( 2463226 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @04:04PM (#59922616) Journal

        > Sanders is promising things he KNOWS he can't provide.

        Moreso, Sanders couldn't get any of his ideas passed while he was in Congress for decades.

        I don't know which is worse. The fact that Sanders didn't have a single accomplishment in Congress toward his agenda or that his supporters think that when he became president he would finally deliver.

      • A presidential election can change the course of politics. It's possible that Sanders' presidential win could have given the democrats the super majority they needed to get things passed. How do you think Obamacare got passed? Even if he couldn't get the laws through, it may have served to shift politics to the left enough for a future democratic president. Now, there's no chance. The electorate has decided they don't want to even try.
  • I should've known better after the Obama presidency. I thought I did, but Bernie wore me down, and I trusted him. That was a mistake. He ran an essentially fraudulent campaign where he sucked up poor peoples' money by promising them the moon, while punctuating every interview and debate with "my opponents are good people who can beat Trump." He threw the fight from day one. What a scumbag.

    • by dfghjk ( 711126 )

      His opponents are good people who can beat Trump. Should he lie? You prefer a liar as a candidate? If you tell the truth you are a scumbag?

      The problem with Bernie is that he is a dreamer and not a doer. His place is in the congress, not the executive branch where doing is the requirement.

  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2020 @04:21PM (#59922660)
    Trump will use his DOJ to kill the ACA. That means no more pre-existing conditions. /. has an aging readership. We need that. And some of us have kids under 25.

    Remember that when November comes around.

    Also I get to tell all the haters they can't pin this on me when Biden loses... If you're reading this I hope you don't have a pre-existing condition. With Corona Virus the insurance industry already wants to raise rates 40%. Christ, you people could've had that fixed. What are you gonna do with a $600-$1000/mo hole in your budget for healthcare? What?

    Ok. I'm done.

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