How Democratic Candidates Can Challenge Bernie Sanders Without it Backfiring

If Bernie is the nominee I will support him. His supporters bother me more than he does. But if you want to defeat him, time is running out and it’s not going to be easy. I was part of the Hillary Clinton movement in 2016 and we all knew then that attacks on Bernie mostly backfired — because his hardcore fans thrive on victim-hood. So any effort to highlight Bernie’s weaknesses has to be done very carefully — especially if you’re Bloomberg. I know he won’t be reading this but maybe someone on his team will.

The truth is that this country needs people like Bernie Sanders. It really does. We need as many voices as possible to galvanize Americans to fight for the rights of the underclass. Because right now income inequality is getting to the point where we are headed straight for a collapse, historically speaking. Bernie says some things no one that else does, and even when he repeats he predecessors the platform he’s built reaches people who never heard the arguments before. He is confronting problems that must be addressed immediately. He is, I think, honest and forthright. Unlike Elizabeth Warren, he never stoops to petty attacks about looks or weight or height. I have seen him show kindness — like when an animal rights protester interrupted his speech and rather than get angry at her he patted her on the back. I think he is a good man. I just don’t think he can beat Donald J. Trump.

His most fervent supporters see Bernie as a quasi-religious figure. They think he can do what no other Democrat that came before him could. Single-handedly reshape America’s political system.These are the same people who believe Obama was a sellout for passing the ACA, historic legislation that gave people like me healthcare for the first time in our lives. Even when he fails, they see Bernie as a martyr. That’s because Old Bernie isn’t like Young Bernie, who was easily exposed as an arrogant, overly confident, even smug individual. But Old Bernie has railed for so long against the Democrats who gave all our most essential social programs, he has managed to paint himself as the lone warrior on the political landscape who champions the rights of the poor.

At a time in our culture where just being a white male is a liability, Sanders has somehow escaped this ad hominem attack. Perhaps because his followers don’t see him as even a man, but rather as a god-like figure.

If you like Bernie and you want to support him, great. This piece isn’t for you. But if you want to beat Trump, if you want to save the country and the world from Trump, you have to understand a few basics.

1. This is a one-term administration with a strong economy and a POTUS who has steady approval ratings. The only two instances of one-termers voted out of the Oval Office happened during a very bad economy. HW Bush (who represented Reagan’s third term) was one, but a better example is Jimmy Carter. Carter’s approvals were so bad that Ted Kennedy primaried hm. That allowed Reagan to take over and even when it got to the point that Nancy had to finish his sentences, his policies reigned for 12 years. Thanks to Obama, Trump inherited a strong economy and he’s kept it afloat with massive financial manipulations. When fewer people are struggling, it’s not the time for a revolution. The only arguments to be made to dispose of Trump are outrage over his corruption, his deceit, his racism, and his blatant efforts to dismantle America’s institution. One would think that would be enough, but not when millions of people hear “checks and balances” and only think about their bank accounts. The case will have to be made that the country is worse off with Trump, even with a strong economy. That is a tough argument to make.
2. Bernie’s case to ask more of the top 1% is a good one. But it’s just not to take out a one-term president. It wasn’t even a good case in 2016, which was about the party in power holding onto power. Bernie busted up the Obama coalition to make his case. But his case should have been made in 2008. Or in 2024. He is a man out of time. Can he still make that case now? Maybe. It’s hard to say. Sooner or later, though, his case will be made because no society can sustain income inequality this dramatic for very long.
3. Democrats have previously relied on super-delegates to hold the rudder steady when internal tumult threatens to veer into unelectable territory. This safeguard is meant to make the process more democratic, but all too often that establishment has backed weak candidates. What I see, at least so far, is that Democrats have lost a significant amount of power, enabling Trump to run the table. They have a relative shortage of money, (and worse, they condemn anyone who has money to burn) and instead they rely on those of us who actually work for a living to donate to keep them in the game. For many of us, Bloomberg feels like a huge relief — a man that at last can match the GOP’s endless dark money. But you can’t tell purity Democrats that.

Okay, so how would you attack Bernie Sanders if you had to, or if you wanted to? Here is my best take on that: Remember anything perceived as a “low blow” will flip out his supporters and backfire — so to bait him, you have to challenge his massive ego, which isn’t that hard to do:

1. Why, in so many years in Congress, have you been unable to get anything done beyond naming a couple of post offices? Why did it take you DECADES to decide to finally run for President? Why do you have no record to back up so much time in Congress?
2. Why did you wait so long to drop out in the 2016 election, dragging out accusations that Hillary had to cheat to win? Do you think still she and the DNC cheated? Do you think Hillary Clinton did not earn her massive lead? You encouraged your supporters to protest at the convention — do you bear any responsibility for how the election turned out? So many of your supporters turned to Trump because he echoed your accusation that the election was rigged.
3. What did you mean when you said the “Democratic Establishment can’t stop me,” and if you view them as your enemy then why did you take advantage of their funds and access in 2016 and continue to do so in 2020? Why do you attack the party that has now dismantled and remodeled its entire structure to satisfy your demands?
4. You have praised Fidel Castro, the Sandinistas, and the government in China — why are you always so coy and defensive about about your praise and admiration of communism?
5. You seem to have a lot of plans that will cost trillions of dollars, but you never talk about how you will boost the economy or jobs or provide any stimulus. How do you plan to inspire hope in Americans who rely on good news about the economy?
6. President Obama passed important legislation that enabled millions to get healthcare. The GOP has been trying to obliterate his legacy and you seem to be suggesting that it wasn’t good enough anyway. Why not support for and fight for what Obama built? Are you jealous of his success where so many others, including yourself, have failed?
7. You recently had a heart attack. How can voters be sure that your health, at nearly 79 years of age, will hold out to last through what will no doubt be a very difficult first term.
8. In 2016, Hillary’s popular vote count trounced yours but you were hanging your hopes on swaying the delegate count to defeat her in a contested convention. Why are you reversing your attitude about that now? Why do you only want delegates to matter when they matter to you?
9. The health care industry is one of the few growing industries for employment in the United States. How can you ensure that plans to streamline the system into a government run program will improve care while not hurting job growth?
10. You have never adequately explained how we’re going to pay for the enormously costly programs you are proposing. Why do you get so red-faced and vague when anyone presses this question? Are you afraid of making promises you can’t keep? What happens when your supporters see that you can’t just wave a magic wand and make college free.

Bernie has never been vetted. He has never been attacked. He has been protected by his online army and by many high profile types who love to be identified as Bernie supporters because it makes them seem like they CARE and they don’t trust the government. But just as in 1972, they are the loud MINORITY, not the SILENT MAJORITY. Attacking him will help many of those out there who don’t trust him to come forward and be heard.