MichDeac25
Well-known member
https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-trump-2016-election-654320
"According to the analysis of the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Survey, fewer than 80 percent of those who voted for Sanders, an independent, in the Democratic primary did the same for Clinton when she faced off against Trump a few months later. What's more, 12 percent of those who backed Sanders actually cast a vote for Trump."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/realsp...ders-voters-like-me-stayed-home/#1ee12478539f
There are lots of such articles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Results_of_the_2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries
According to this, Bernie got 598,000+ votes in Michigan. Even if the article that show a 12% slippage are off by 50%, it would have cost Hillary about 36,000 votes. That's more than enough to carry MI. In PA, Bernie got over 780,000 votes, just the 12% would have been about 80,000 votes. That's more than enough to swing the state. In WI, Bernie got 570,000 votes. Hillary lost by less than 24,000.
Also remember on the switched votes, if you lose by 100, you don't have to get 101 new votes. You only need to switch 51 of the switched votes to win.
All of the above is even before adding in those who stayed home.
There is no question the disloyalty of the Bernie voters were a major factor in Hillary losing and if they act the same way this time, Trump could win again.
I am not saying Hillary's laziness and arrogance in not campaigning in those and other states wasn't also a major factor, but Bernie and his followers do have a lot of blame.
What you don't get about DSA is that the GOP is and will continue to use the term "socialist" to drive suburbanites and others away from voting for any Dem. You are proudly proving ammo for Trump. Like it or not, the vast majority of Americans don't want to be called socialists.
As to cannibalization, look at how Dems attacked the most popular Dem in the past quarter century at the most recent debate. A bunch of them piled on Obama over and over.
To your point, I know someone who went from being an ardent Bernie support to becoming an ardent Trump supporter. It still blows my mind.
The underlying thread between them is that they are an "outsider" candidate. Beyond that, they have nothing in common. But some people are stupid and don't think it through.