I think it’s revealing that Bernie got as far as he did even despite that. At the end of the day what killed him was Obama calling up all the other candidates (except Warren, for some odd reason…) and getting them to drop out and endorse Biden on the eve of Super Tuesday. The media magnified that, sure, but that kind of political maneuvering would have a major impact on an election even with some platonic ideal of unbiased media.

Totally agree. Those fundraising maps where Bernie took like 90% of the country were amazing. :smiling face with heart-eyes: That he was able to stay 2nd and third in the polls while being totally blacked out was a testament to how his message resonated with people… but also to how much he embodied that message, his history, etc.

And that isn’t something a party can always pull off. The only reason the nominee was Biden (as opposed to someone who can draw a clock) is because no one else could attract any reliable block of voters. In a year there’s no candidate like Biden, or a year where the Tara Reade story comes out a month earlier, or a year where a popular ex-president doesn’t exist to get the other candidates in line, Bernie plows through Super Tuesday and wins. Establishment Democrats were able to pull it off this time, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be able to pull it off every time.

Maybe, but I’ve got serious doubts… It’s their party and regardless of whether or not we’ve got a candidate of Bernie’s caliber they’re always going to be the ones pulling the strings and making the rules. Bernie still had to walk into that convention with a majority of delegates to keep the super delegates at bay and they still could have performed untold fuckery behind the scenes. As demonstrated at the 2016 convention, the media is on their side against a leftist challenger and most of the Democratic Party voters had no clue of the shenanigans going on behind the scenes because corporate media was willing to look the other way.

I think it’s also important to remember that we may very well be fucked for 12 years if Biden wins and lets his VP run after his first term. That’s 12 years of us being kicked in the teeth and them massaging the system to smooth out any footholds we may have used to gain traction with Bernie. All the while, our ability to fundraise dropping as our piece of the pie continues to shrink.

And totally not to harp on you, but as if all that’s not enough, just a reminder that CNN literally ignored and refused to acknowledge the Tara Reade story until the day Bernie dropped out. I think that’s really the solid reminder that they’re not helping the dems because they have a preference for them; It’s that any candidate looking to introduce reformism or leftism into the world is the enemy of their bosses, their jobs, and their lifestyle.

God damn this shit is depressing.:grinning face with sweat: