Biden mounts behind-the-scenes mission to win over wary progressives

[beastie boy]

With full appreciation of the progressive voters being a far broader segment than just the die-hard Bernie fans, Joe is implementing a behind-the scenes push to bring them to his side. This may explain why Bernie is so unnerved lately and so reluctant to drop out of the race: as far as Bernie is concerned, this is a direct assault on his movement, not just his presidential aspirations. He can only counter Biden's efforts to bring large portions of Bernie's base to his side if he remains in the race and maintains some semblance of an alternative to Biden.

https://news.yahoo.com/biden-mounts-behind-scenes-mission-110035973.html

Joe Biden’s campaign is mounting an aggressive behind-the-scenes effort to address the biggest weakness of his candidacy: A lack of enthusiasm among the liberal base, particularly young voters.

Since his landslide victories earlier this month, Biden’s advisers have engaged in talks with a range of top progressive groups, including some that endorsed his chief rival, Bernie Sanders, according to multiple sources familiar with the conversations. The outreach to left-wing organizations and individuals — representing causes from climate change and immigrant rights to gun control and mobilizing underserved black and brown communities — is focused on young activists. Broadly speaking, they viewed Biden as one of the least-inspiring candidates in the sprawling Democratic primary field.

-snip

“The dirty little secret is everyone’s talking to Biden’s campaign,” said Sean McElwee, co-founder of the liberal think tank Data for Progress. “There will be fights, but at the end of the day, progressives still hold votes in the Senate and increasingly Democratic voters stand behind our views. I expect we’ll see Biden embracing key planks of the ambitious agenda progressives have outlined on issues like climate and pharmaceutical policy.”

-snip

The moves are just the beginning of a “coordinated and robust effort to unite the party and beat Donald Trump,” the adviser said.

Biden aides are taking a two-pronged approach. They're reaching out to what they see as traditional progressive groups with longer legacies such as Planned Parenthood, with which the campaign held a long call ahead of the most recent debate, and movement groups that came of age more recently, including liberal organization Indivisible and climate change-focused Sunrise Movement.

Biden has also backed proposals from Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in recent weeks on the issues of student debt and free college, respectively.

[The Magistrate]

1. The Man Is A Professiponal, Sir

This is what I would expect of him. I do not, as I have said elsewhere, like the man overmuch myself, but I respect his skill at the trade, and will certainly vote for him.

"You will not rise to the occasion. You will default to your level of training."





"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

[beastie boy]

3. Indeed he is.

He is quietly running rings around Bernie, leaving Bernie only the option of a knee-jerk reaction which, in the long run, will not amount to much. Say what you want about Joe, but one has to admire his strategic prowess.

[redstatebluegirl]

2. I am sick of pandering to a faction of people who will never vote for our candidate unless it is BS.

[KPN]

7. Pandering: pleasing other people by doing or saying what you think they want you to do or say.:

Yes, you should be.

[Turin_C3PO]

9. The great majority

of progressives and liberals will vote for Biden. The few that won’t are fringe and we need not worry about them.

[The Magistrate]

10. The Key To This Sort Of Thing, Ma'am

Is finding the level of favor which is enough for the followers, but not the leaders, and which does not give onlookers an impression of weakness. Properly calculated, the result is a few angry people who make a repellent spectacle of themselves, and a great many who are favorably impressed by a leader's magnanimity. A professional like Mr. Biden can probably find the right course to this goal.





"From Bernie’s perspective, dropping out of a race once you have no chance of winning is peculiar behavior that can only be explained by the work of a hidden hand. For most politicians, though, it is actually standard operating procedure. Only Sanders seems to think the normal thing to do once voters have made clear they don’t want to nominate you is to continue campaigning anyway."





"When things are not called by their right names, what is said cannot make sense. When what is said does not make sense, what is planned cannot succeed. When plans do not succeed, people become uneasy. When people are uneasy, punishments do not fit crimes. When punishments do not fit crimes, people cannot know where to put hand or foot."

[ms liberty]

4. Good. It's what we need now.

If he would give a full endorsement of marijuana legalization it would be the final nail in the coffin. And good for America, too. It's a really important issue for a lot of people, not just young people.

[gulliver]

5. Great idea

Find folks to work with.

[Baitball Blogger]

6. He doesn't have to fight for my vote.

I'm just debating whether I should send my ballot in with this name checked on the first day, or should I wait a few days so it can come in with a flurry of others. You know, just to make sure it gets counted.

[showblue22]

8. The Sunrise Movement is fake.

[Celerity]

11. Define fake. You may very well disagree with them, but they are obviously real enough that

the Biden campaign is meeting with them.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunrise_Movement

In the summer of 2013, Evan Weber, Matthew Lichtash, and environmentalist Michael K. Dorsey used a $30,000 grant plus free office space provided by the Sierra Club and the Wesleyan University Green Fund to draft an ambitious plan for climate action, which was the basis for the incorporation of the US Climate Plan 501(c)(3) nonprofit (aka Sunrise Movement Education Fund) incorporated in January 2014.

Sara Blazevic and Varshini Prakash started the Sunrise Movement on the East Coast in 2015. Blazevic, Prakash, and other early leaders trained at Momentum, an organization that teaches community organizing.

The Sunrise Movement launched as a 501(c)(4) in 2017. During the 2018 midterms, they worked to oust candidates who would not refuse funding from the fossil fuel industry and to elect proponents of renewable energy. Half of the group's first 20 endorsements won their elections. Deb Haaland, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar won election to the House of Representatives and six other endorsed candidates won election to state house or senate seats in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania.

After the 2018 elections, the Sunrise Movement has focused on the climate change proposals collectively known as the Green New Deal, whose core principles have been described as "decarbonization, jobs, and justice." Its proposals include a transition to renewable energy, expanded public transportation, and an economic plan to drive job growth. Several publications have reported that the Green New Deal opposes nuclear power and carbon capture as well as some other technologies. However, Senator Ed Markey, the co-sponsor of the Green New Deal resolution in the United States senate, stated that the resolution's language is technology-agnostic and does not exclude nuclear power or carbon capture.

Younger votes are needed to win versus Trump. Tothink otherwise is the height of hubris.

Biden has a real Xennial (cuspers 1977-80 born) mainline Millennial, Zennial (cuspers born 1992/3-97/98), and mainline Gen Z (born 1997 onward) voter issue.

You cannot just say, sod off, we do not need you, to us. There HAS to be outreach along all our various ideological stripes.


From the Washington Post Super Tuesday all states aggregator

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/exit-polls-2020-super-tuesday-primary/#AGE





Those are very weak numbers that need to be (combined with GOTV efforts to raise the absolute numbers of younger voters as well) improved far beyond just assuming all under 45's flow to Biden once Sanders drops out. The same applies to the farther left liberal end of the spectrum to. One does NOT have to pander, but you simply cannot go scorched earth either. Once you get into the oldest Gen Xers and especially the Boomers and older cohorts, you are going into the teeth of Trump's centre of strength, especially amongst white men and unfortunately even (albeit to a lesser extent) white women as well.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

12. Wary progressives? If you're a bit wary of Biden, how's the alternative? 4 more yrs of Trump? nt

[Peacetrain]

13. Very well stated!!