Democrats Scared Of A Sanders Nomination But Fear Push To Stop Him Would ‘Backfire’

On Tuesday, the Democrat field was rocked by headlines announcing that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is experiencing a late surge in popularity and that the aging Vermont socialist is poised to win not just the Iowa caucuses, but the New Hampshire primary, putting him on track to take an early lead in the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

But while Democrats may be terrified by the prospect of a Sanders presidential run given how poorly the “Democratic socialist” plays against President Donald Trump in battleground and “Rust Belt” states, Politico and the Washington Post report that Democrats have no plans to put the breaks on Sanders’ rise to the top lest his “supporters engage in an all-out mutiny.

“Even the hint of an organized anti-Sanders movement would risk alienating the Vermont senator’s sometimes belligerent supporters and play into claims that the process is ‘rigged,’ many Democrats say privately,” according to Greenwich Time. “Democratic House candidates in swing districts say they are nervous about running on the same ticket as Sanders, but they, too, are reluctant to say so publicly.”

Only Third Way, a group that pushes a moderate platform for Democrats, is speaking out against Sanders, launching a $700,000 Iowa ad buy urging caucus-goers to put defeating President Donald Trump ahead of their own personal preferences. Otherwise, Democrats are simply complaining in private, according to reports, panicking that they might be forced to host Sanders rallies and answer for his expansive, socialist plans — and, on the other hand, panicking whether going public with their fears will “antagonize” Sanders’ notoriously vindictive base.

Democrats remember, particularly, 2016, when Sanders fans, convinced Sanders was locked out of the Democrats’ nomination process by an “Establishment” that preferred Hillary Clinton, abandoned the party and Clinton — a situation, some experts say, could have kneecapped Clinton in states like Florida.

There are problems with Sanders beyond electability. He’s elderly and has already had one heart attack. Having never faced a real opponent in Vermont, he’s untested. His background has never been examined. And he’s a walking Republican campaign ad; there’s footage of Sanders praising dictators, lauding the now-collapsed leadership of Venezuela, and celebrating the USSR. Unlike more modern “Democratic socialists,” he has no polished exterior.

And despite claims by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and others, socialism, while popular among the Twitterati, isn’t taking root among everyday Americans.

“A Pew Research Center poll from last June found 14 percent of Democrats hold a ‘very positive’ view of socialism,” according to Politico. “That hardcore 14 percent are the voters most likely to walk if Democrats conclude not just that they don’t want to nominate the lone democratic socialist in the presidential race, but also that his entire platform is an exercise in magical thinking. This is the Democratic establishment dilemma: It doesn’t want to be a democratic socialist party, yet it needs democratic socialist voters to retake the White House.”

The Washington Examiner’s David Drucker found that even so-called “Never Trumpers,” who make up the base of Republicans who could cross over to help elect a Democrat in 2020, may just sit out the presidential election if Bernie Sanders is the Democrats’ nominee.

“It’s asking a lot from people on the center-right or in the old Reagan wing of GOP to go full Sanders in November,” one told the Examiner.