You can read Bernie's sharper anti Hillary message in recent days in a few ways but I take it as a compliment.
A couple of new Iowa polls suggest this has gone from being close to a situation where she is walloping him there.
"With Vice President Joe Biden officially out of the running and the Benghazi testimony behind her, Hillary Clinton has surged to a 41-point lead in the first caucus state of Iowa, according to results out Tuesday from the latest Monmouth University poll surveying likely Democratic caucus-goers."
"Clinton earned the support of nearly two in three likely participants in next February's caucus, with 65 percent. Her next closest competitor, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, took 24 percent. In third place is former Gov. Martin O'Malley with 5 percent, and Harvard law professor Larry Lessig follows with 1 percent."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/monmouth-poll-iowa-democrats-2016-215178#ixzz3prRNcCXp
Notice how with Biden out they are now including Lessig? What you are seeing is the party in Iowa coalescing around Hillary.
"Among Sanders' supporters, a majority of 68 percent said they back Clinton as their second choice, compared with just 19 percent for O'Malley.In terms of favorability numbers, 88 percent see the former secretary of state positively, versus 8 percent who do not. Meanwhile, 77 percent have a favorable view of Sanders, while 11 percent do not."
"Approximately four in 10, or 40 percent, of those surveyed said that they are "completely decided" on their candidate, about double the share of Republicans who said the same in a Monmouth poll released Monday. Another 37 percent said they have a strong preference but are willing to think about other choices, 10 percent indicated a slight preference and 13 percent said they were undecided. Among the 31 percent of Democrats who said they have met a candidate campaigning in Iowa, 21 percent said they saw Clinton in person, while 16 percent said they saw Sanders."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/monmouth-poll-iowa-democrats-2016-215178#ixzz3prRg7pKb
It strikes me as that in every way, the Dems are the mirror image of the GOP. They have a million candidates we have just two with the party already clearly rallying around her.
"Iowa Democrats are growing more certain of who their nominee will be, dinner guests and politics watchers said."
“The event felt like Democrats have concluded the race is over,” said David Yepsen, who wrote about Iowa politics for The Des Moines Register for 34 years.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/10/25/8-takeaways-iowa-democratic-jefferson-jackson-dinner-sanders-clinton-omalley/74590332/
Seeing how strong she is becoming, it's not surprising Bernie who allegedly has never done a negative ad in his live is weighing: doing negative attack ads. Mostly around the idea that she takes positions today that he had since the day he was born.
"Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont says he will not attack Hillary Rodham Clinton in harshly negative ways. But pollsters for his campaign are quietly testing pointed critiques of Mrs. Clinton as too close to Wall Street or as unreliably liberal for initially supporting trade deals and the Iraq war."
"Mr. Sanders says he wants to avoid becoming a typical politician, yet he didn’t exactly break the mold on PBS’s “Charlie Rose” on Monday night: “If people are satisfied with establishment politics, you’ve got a candidate,” he said of his leading opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination.
A couple of new Iowa polls suggest this has gone from being close to a situation where she is walloping him there.
"With Vice President Joe Biden officially out of the running and the Benghazi testimony behind her, Hillary Clinton has surged to a 41-point lead in the first caucus state of Iowa, according to results out Tuesday from the latest Monmouth University poll surveying likely Democratic caucus-goers."
"Clinton earned the support of nearly two in three likely participants in next February's caucus, with 65 percent. Her next closest competitor, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, took 24 percent. In third place is former Gov. Martin O'Malley with 5 percent, and Harvard law professor Larry Lessig follows with 1 percent."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/monmouth-poll-iowa-democrats-2016-215178#ixzz3prRNcCXp
Notice how with Biden out they are now including Lessig? What you are seeing is the party in Iowa coalescing around Hillary.
"Among Sanders' supporters, a majority of 68 percent said they back Clinton as their second choice, compared with just 19 percent for O'Malley.In terms of favorability numbers, 88 percent see the former secretary of state positively, versus 8 percent who do not. Meanwhile, 77 percent have a favorable view of Sanders, while 11 percent do not."
"Approximately four in 10, or 40 percent, of those surveyed said that they are "completely decided" on their candidate, about double the share of Republicans who said the same in a Monmouth poll released Monday. Another 37 percent said they have a strong preference but are willing to think about other choices, 10 percent indicated a slight preference and 13 percent said they were undecided. Among the 31 percent of Democrats who said they have met a candidate campaigning in Iowa, 21 percent said they saw Clinton in person, while 16 percent said they saw Sanders."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/monmouth-poll-iowa-democrats-2016-215178#ixzz3prRg7pKb
It strikes me as that in every way, the Dems are the mirror image of the GOP. They have a million candidates we have just two with the party already clearly rallying around her.
"Iowa Democrats are growing more certain of who their nominee will be, dinner guests and politics watchers said."
“The event felt like Democrats have concluded the race is over,” said David Yepsen, who wrote about Iowa politics for The Des Moines Register for 34 years.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/10/25/8-takeaways-iowa-democratic-jefferson-jackson-dinner-sanders-clinton-omalley/74590332/
Seeing how strong she is becoming, it's not surprising Bernie who allegedly has never done a negative ad in his live is weighing: doing negative attack ads. Mostly around the idea that she takes positions today that he had since the day he was born.
"Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont says he will not attack Hillary Rodham Clinton in harshly negative ways. But pollsters for his campaign are quietly testing pointed critiques of Mrs. Clinton as too close to Wall Street or as unreliably liberal for initially supporting trade deals and the Iraq war."
"Mr. Sanders says he wants to avoid becoming a typical politician, yet he didn’t exactly break the mold on PBS’s “Charlie Rose” on Monday night: “If people are satisfied with establishment politics, you’ve got a candidate,” he said of his leading opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“If you want real change, I’m the candidate.”
"The next morning, Mr. Sanders framed Mrs. Clinton as a Johnny-come-lately on policy priorities for liberals. “I am delighted that in the last couple months, Hillary Clinton has come on board positions that I have held for many, many years,” he said on NBC’s “Today."
"After weeks of inching toward a more aggressive posture against Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Sanders is now walking a fine line: He is trying to draw sharp contrasts between their records, yet not attack her on a personal level. He questions her political shifts on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the Pacific Rim free trade deal and same-sex marriage rights, for instance, while trying to avoid impugning her honesty and judgment, a favorite Republican tactic."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/us/politics/bernie-sanders-walking-the-line-between-personal-attacks-and-political-critiques.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
This is a rather tired meme of Bernie's. The I did everything first canard. Rachel Maddow did a good job showing that on gay marriage he too has made political compromises in the past.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/10/bernie-sanders-gay-marriage-and-who-was.html
Compromise is only a dirty word for Republicans. Boasting that you've always been Mr. Progressive on everything wears thin. What Rachel teased out is that Bernie is a good man and someone with fine public service but he isn't a Saint either.
"The next morning, Mr. Sanders framed Mrs. Clinton as a Johnny-come-lately on policy priorities for liberals. “I am delighted that in the last couple months, Hillary Clinton has come on board positions that I have held for many, many years,” he said on NBC’s “Today."
"After weeks of inching toward a more aggressive posture against Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Sanders is now walking a fine line: He is trying to draw sharp contrasts between their records, yet not attack her on a personal level. He questions her political shifts on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the Pacific Rim free trade deal and same-sex marriage rights, for instance, while trying to avoid impugning her honesty and judgment, a favorite Republican tactic."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/us/politics/bernie-sanders-walking-the-line-between-personal-attacks-and-political-critiques.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
This is a rather tired meme of Bernie's. The I did everything first canard. Rachel Maddow did a good job showing that on gay marriage he too has made political compromises in the past.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/10/bernie-sanders-gay-marriage-and-who-was.html
Compromise is only a dirty word for Republicans. Boasting that you've always been Mr. Progressive on everything wears thin. What Rachel teased out is that Bernie is a good man and someone with fine public service but he isn't a Saint either.
He's a politician. Being a politician means you sometimes have to compromise. This is the whole problem with the GOP which has decided that compromise is out of the question. The decision not to compromise is also a decision not to govern.
To govern, you can't be a purist. This is because there are competing interests and competing voter needs and desires.
Now Bernie is finding another part of his meme under pressure: that he never goes negative.
"Defeating Mrs. Clinton without resorting to nasty attacks may be the most difficult challenge yet for Mr. Sanders as he tries to prove that his campaign — which is racing to grow and evolve as fast as it must — can compete at the same high level as Mrs. Clinton’s vaunted political operation.
"But to raise doubts about her could also undermine what many voters like about Mr. Sanders: that he says he abhors the ugly side of politics and will avoid it even if it costs him the campaign."
"Already, some Sanders supporters say that although they agree he needs to draw contrasts with Mrs. Clinton, they fear that he could jeopardize his all-about-the-issues image."
“His greatest strength is his authenticity as a different kind of leader,” said Pramila Jayapal, a Washington State senator who is a prominent Sanders supporter in Seattle.
"Denigrating Mrs. Clinton as a purveyor of “establishment politics” struck Ms. Jayapal as name-calling, and she said, “I’d prefer what he’d been doing before: pointing out the real, specific problems facing the country and in politics today.”
To govern, you can't be a purist. This is because there are competing interests and competing voter needs and desires.
Now Bernie is finding another part of his meme under pressure: that he never goes negative.
"Defeating Mrs. Clinton without resorting to nasty attacks may be the most difficult challenge yet for Mr. Sanders as he tries to prove that his campaign — which is racing to grow and evolve as fast as it must — can compete at the same high level as Mrs. Clinton’s vaunted political operation.
"But to raise doubts about her could also undermine what many voters like about Mr. Sanders: that he says he abhors the ugly side of politics and will avoid it even if it costs him the campaign."
"Already, some Sanders supporters say that although they agree he needs to draw contrasts with Mrs. Clinton, they fear that he could jeopardize his all-about-the-issues image."
“His greatest strength is his authenticity as a different kind of leader,” said Pramila Jayapal, a Washington State senator who is a prominent Sanders supporter in Seattle.
"Denigrating Mrs. Clinton as a purveyor of “establishment politics” struck Ms. Jayapal as name-calling, and she said, “I’d prefer what he’d been doing before: pointing out the real, specific problems facing the country and in politics today.”
It's obvious what the problem is. He is falling further behind. So he has to go negative if he wants any chance.
But, he also reveals in doing so that he was laying it on a little thick about negative ads or Super PACs. In small Vermont races this might work but on a larger scale it's not so easy.
So we've establishment that Bernie's not a Saint. He's a fine man with an excellent record of public service but he is a politician and this is not a dirty word.
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