I so agree with much of this. My 25 year old son wouldn’t even vote for Hillary ( he left it blank) and will definitely not vote for Biden. Joe is not gonna energize the youth and though I will hold my nose and vote for Biden I don’t think he’ll win.
The younger generation is not going to come out and vote for him. To them, it’s just more of the same, and really, it is. Bernie would’ve beaten Trump in 2016.
Cheers
Deborah Holland
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Millennial here, none of my most politically active friends will ever vote for Biden. Bernie gets millennials out of the house to vote. Biden doesn't stand a chance against Trump. Bernie might not either, but he's the best chance we have. Watching the DNC flip-flop from who they're backing, from Biden, to Buttgieg, to Bloomberg, and now to come full circle back to Biden has been at least the very least, entertaining. It shows that they don't want Bernie full stop. And they're delusional if they think anyone else stands a chance against Trump. Bernie's exciting, Biden is boring (and creepy to boot!)
Matt
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Hey Bob good letter. I saw my mom Sunday and she said her friends are all for Bloomberg or biden and against Bernie. I’m a republican but I want Bernie to win because I think our system needs some integrity and honesty to balance out where we are today.
See you around
Andrew Einhorn
(my nephew)
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To a lot of us millennials and zoomers Bernie feels like our last chance to at least attempt to mitigate climate change and help our fellow Americans get ahead a bit. That’s the fucking joke - boomers and talking heads acting like we want free shit. No, we don’t want to see other human beings struggling when they shouldn’t have to. We don’t want our parents to have to eat dog food in their old age and work as Walmart greeters so they can afford said dog food. We’d like to maybe have a chance at saving what’s left of the planet. Oh, and it would be cool to not have to be worried about getting shot at school, the mall, concerts, etc.
Enjoy another 4 years of Trump if this is how the boomers and DNC wanna play it. We’re totally fucked.
Harry Metzler
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Biden feels like Hillary Part Deux. Ugh.
Joe Weinstein
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Real simple for me Bob on November’s coming election. If the DNC AGAIN screws Bernie Sanders from the nomination...I’m voting for Trump! My kids who would have voted for Bernie also feel the same way. “No politics as usual” is why Hillary lost! It will be the same for Biden. Start singing “4 more years” if Bernie gets screwed again!
David Wolnik
_______________________________________
couldn't agree more. The Democrats think going for a "moderate" candidate will catch most votes when in reality that's the recipe for failure in this election.
It's depressing to see they have a candidate like Sanders but are too afraid to take a stand and use their only chance of winning against Trump.
Yeah, if Biden gets the nomination people will still vote for him because anything is better than Trump but the problem is, *not enough* people will
vote for him in order to win the election - exactly for the reason you've outlined. Young people have had enough and they're tired of always having to vote for
the lesser of two evils. But DNP doesn't get that.
As said, it's depressing.
Best,
Frank Baach
_______________________________________
God I so wish you were wrong but everything about this reads so RIGHT to me.
I am no millennial and all I can think is why cant more of the oldsters think like us? How are so many people getting it so wrong?
Angie Banicki
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Thanks for telling it like it is Bob. Brilliant!
Ted Lindsay
Burlington, Ontario
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So I voted for Bernie; not b/c I’m on board with his Unicorns and Rainbows Revolution but b/c I wanted to support the kids and their aspirational vision. It’s their future, not mine.
I showed up for them. Doesn’t look like they’re showing up for him tonight. At least not in sufficient numbers for the revolution to be televised.
Randi Swindel
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Did you hear what was playing at Bernie's 'Super Tuesday' rally before his half-time speech? John Lennon singing 'Power to the People'.
Right on!
Stephanie Zill
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Your writing is always insightful but the below just absolutely crystallized my feelings. I’m incredibly fearful that Biden will not deliver a victory over Trump. That said, I hope that the “negative partisanship” will be enough to deliver a defeat to Trump regardless who the nominee is.
Robert Mitchell
_______________________________________
Truth on two things. One, the phone for calls is a thing of the past. Or at least a specialized use. Only grandma wants to talk to her daughters for an hour every day. I don’t even keep the ringer on in my office phone. And I only use it for teleconferencing. Meetings with staff and colleagues who WFH. No one I know wants to be interrupted in the middle of what they’re doing to chat. Silly.
Two, The Beatles were actually real.
zekmoe
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Well said Bob, as someone watching from abroad with the usual mixture of interest and fear (whatever happens in the US has direct, potentially violent, consequences for the rest of us) and it's sad to watch. Sanders has the youth, the future, Biden has the old vote, but it's the middle-aged dads, the ones who don't yet have children old enough to explain to them how fucked their futures look, who are going to win this for Biden, they still think it's the 1990s and capitalism will save them. As I read elsewhere, there will never be a Gen X President, it's a lost generation politically.
John L
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But what i learned is there is no difference between the Democrats and Republicans... the youth are angry... and they will only get angrier and more prevalent.
Todd Devonshire
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I remember when Hubert Humphrey was the great Democratic hope in 1968 against the evil genius Dick Nixon. I was facing the draft and being sent to Vietnam.
All the Hump had to say was he would end the f??king war and I would have turned out for him. But no he couldn't say that. He was a centrist.
And that bland bag of BS lost. Not by a lot. But he lost. Just like Al Gore. And Hilary.
I guess as we get older we come to like bland oatmeal and stewed prunes. Why is that?
Maybe we should think again. And KICK OUT THE JAMS MOTHER F??KER!!!
Mike Hugos
_______________________________________
"Now I'm really scared of Joe debating Donald."
Bernie, on the other hand... Like it or not, he exudes authenticity and passion, and his New York comebacks to Trump's nasty, childish, pathetic snipes we take the roof off any debate venue. These qualities even turn his age into an asset. How many people his age have the energy to campaign like that? The Guardian just published an article about rockers in their 70's having to leave the road for health reasons! Bernie appears to be willing to kill himself to win. ...and that's a good look.
The Dems are worried about Trump destroying Bernie for his past behaviour, statements, etc.?? What?! Bernie could whip out ten jabs at Trump's (and his family's) sordid past for every one thrown at him. Meanwhile the Dem leadership only seems to be able to criticize Sanders because he refused to play ball or fit in with them. Good. Typical Dem fatalism and whimpiness. By the way, his votes against firearms legislation the Dems fret about (and I disagree with) will be a vote-getter.
Robert Bond
_______________________________________
You’re speaking a lot of truths here.
MSM selling fear, check.
Electing Biden won’t solve anything, check.
Biden’s son got a sweetheart deal, check.
Biden stands for nothing, check.
The Dem elites, the limousine libs, want the status quo, so the fix is in (just like HRC in 2016), check.
Biden is innocent, not so much.
Check the tape, Bob!
Cheers!
Larry Allen
_______________________________________
Thanks for being real , Bob.
I believe when Bloomberg bombed the debates, the establishment panicked and made some calls to Powerpoint Amy and Mayor Pete, telling them to drop out and endorse Biden. It guaranteed the delegate-rich state of Minnesota to Biden and further divided the party against the biggest evil. Not Trump!!! But Bernie Sanders. Yup. That’s the biggest threat to mainstream politicians.
Joe Biden is senile. Did you catch his Declaration of Independence flub? That’s the least of it. False valor, claiming he got arrested with Nelson Mandela?!?!? If Bernie falsely claimed such a thing, NYT WaPo and Politico would be up his ass. With Biden? Head in the sand. Crickets. Only the millennial channels (aka the internet) focused on such a glaring red flag.
How senile are boomers to think Biden can defeat Trump? Because Obama needed them to feel better about electing a man who didn’t look like former presidents, ole’ familiar Joe will do! Coattails and False Valor won’t win this one.
Yet Bernie, the candidate who has stood for the same humane and common sense policies his entire 30-year career is auto-demonized. “Don’t say the S___ word.” I didn’t live through the cold war, but we need to get real that Bernie would NEVER be able to pass half of what he would like to through the Senate.
I will vote blue. But many of my generation won’t as they see the inevitable coming, the establishment anointing Joe. Who can barely remember is middle name.
What a transparent display of corporate fuckery. Obama makes some phone calls and Joe suddenly surges.
Hmmmm...........
Dylan Muhlberg
_______________________________________
The only presidential campaign I've donated to is Bernie, because he takes no corporate cash. He is also the only authentic candidate running for the democrats, as was Trump in 2016 for the republicans. But one of them is a good guy and the other not so much.
If it comes down to Trump and Biden...I like Joe and hate Trump, but I love our country so I'll vote for Trump. (actually I won't vote at all as I don't want anything to do with the current broken system)
Trump and Bernie our outsiders...they push back on the deep state...the deep state is just entrenched do-good career bureaucrats that unfortunately don't stand up to special interests and corporate lobbyists...they are part of the problem...and when they get no push back for decades they too become corrupt.
Four more years of Trump will be like fingernails dragged along a chalkboard, but 4 years of going back to the status quo and turning the entire nation into a Sleepy Joe supporting endless wars and the corporate ownership of our democracy is not the direction we need to head. Trump gave Sanders a big boost, but not enough to get him over the finish line due to the work of corporate owned MSM and the democratic mafia...perhaps we will get a transformational candidate after 4 more years of the Orange Man...less likely after 4 years of Sleepy Joe.
There is hope as you point out...the young people see it. Let's hope they don't do what we did as baby boomers, marched in the street in our 20s but quickly sold out by our 40s.
Ed Kelly
_______________________________________
“The mainstream media is selling fear”? Well, duh. It’s what they do. Whether it’s weather, health, politics, etc they always “sell fear”. Having worked in or next to radio and TV newsrooms for 50 years I can assure you that the one singular mantra that they understand and adhere to is this...FEAR DRIVES RATINGS. Always keep that in mind when watching the hysterical talking heads on any subject.
Meantime, I’ve been saying for a while that this election reminded me a lot of 1972. I’m now thinking it’s shaping up to look more like 1996. An incumbent president that the opposition party was rabid in their hatred and opposition to him. The GOP wound up nominating an old, long time loyal soldier who everyone liked but no one was really excited about and Clinton buried them. I thought at the time that the Dole campaign slogan should have been “because it’s his turn”. My singular memory of the Dole campaign was seeing him in a stump speech yelling “where’s the outrage” talking about Clinton. It was sad. The GOP overlooked the obvious shortcomings of Dole who had no chance of matching up with Clinton and put him at the head of the ticket. Nominating Biden seems as if it will be much of the same in 2020.
Chuck DuCoty
_______________________________________
I don’t think Biden can triumph over Trump. I think he’s getting voted as the “safe” bet, and that won’t cut it in November. I think the best hope is Sanders who has a radical new way of thinking. An agenda that can pull us up into the circle of many countries who already care about the environment, sustainability, and most of all...its citizens. It’s crazy to see the Dems playing it so safe, when 2016 was taken storm by a maniac so far out of the usual lines.
Til next time,
Hunter Reece
_______________________________________
PREACH BOBBY PREACHHHHHHHHHHHH
to see Biden sit on the sidelines all election season until now, when all other candidates (sans sanders) drops out? It’s as if none of them debated him. Dear god somethings gotta change.
I’ve worked full time or more every day of my life since I was 16 to fend for myself. Still hoping we can get Bernie in there and make sure no one else has to go through that.
Here’s to hoping
A 27 year old who’s ready to revolt.
ok, tyler
artist, producer, songwriter, actor
_______________________________________
I couldn’t agree more and I’m a boomer.
Bernie’s rise is about hope and the desire for change - for a chance at a fair shot for all.
Biden’s “comeback” is the result of a pretty blatant/transparent effort from the powers that be in the DNC to retain control. Two candidates drop out and suddenly find the love for Biden just ahead of (in time for) Super Tuesday? It worked for them in 2016. They forced their “anointed one” onto the ticket and dismissed the desire of the people for real change and hope. And we got Trumped. It appears they are using the same playbook again. Bernie’s rise is driven by, and funded by, the people. While we want to move ahead the DNC has worked overtime to fire up the way-back machine. So .... who got promised what positions (VP?) for falling in line?
Billy Goodness
_______________________________________
If Biden wins, Trump wins. Didn't anyone learn anything from the impeachment?
Trump controls the narrative and owns Biden. Have you heard Biden lately? He can't remember anything and he reminds me of Reagan in his final days, lost and confused.
M1
_______________________________________
' If Biden gets it, I’m checked out. It will just be like Hillary. Cringe worthy clip after clip, debate after debate. The guy is a joke. And if he wins we still lose. He won’t put any change in, everyone will be so relieved they don’t pay attention and probably more fucked up shit will happen under his watch. Just more lip service.
I’m a very strong Bernie democrat. If the party doesn’t evolve there, I gotta take a hard look at things. Probably coincidence but my life got better under trump. Hate him; but if we are truly in a dystopian society like I think we are; I happen to be someone that works for rich people. And they clam up under dems.
And that would be fine if dems got shit done; but they don’t. We see 98 votes in the senate for these big pharm bills, they sneak the stuff through. Joe will try to “reach across the aisle” when they don’t give a fuck about that when they are in power. And it becomes a lose lose. We don’t get the improvements we want, and the rich clam up on their money while the government is blue. So fuck it.
Millennial, 38, came of working age in 2008, only known anything but uncertainty and struggle. Despite a good education and well off parents. I bust my ass and have never known security. If it’s joe, I know I don’t actually live in democracy and I will check out, try to live the best life I can. Maybe look at other countries. I’m starting to see how dems sold us all out, lip service to narrow groups, but don’t do shit for anyone really. They just play the same game from their side, and they laugh all the way to the bank. They claim they would let us pick our candidate and are literally repeating 2016. We deserve another 4 years of trump.
They said trump would plunge us into economic chaos; didn’t happen. War, didn’t happen. Companies are actually genuinely rethinking china. It’s a damn shame it had to come at the cost of all these conservative judges. All I know is at least we are aware of how fucked this is under him, under Biden we will fall asleep again. Bernie at least gives us hope and maybe we can have a small piece back for us in the form of healthcare and education.
It’s absolutely affordable, they afford everything else with no problem. They universally passed a 138 billion dollar military bill in days that went to shit no one discusssed on a single news network, and was for more weapons we don’t even need. Just slid it through, supported by both parties. If we need even a few hundred million to educate children people lose their shit.
Thanks for acknowledging the Hypocrisy of the 60’s movement and what you see that generation leaving us with now. Fucking disgusting how the average boomer turned out. No offense. I probably shouldn’t judge too hard, if the hippies became what they are over time, god help the human race if we age that way.
Leland Elliott
_______________________________________
"It appears Joe Biden is having a very good night, but can he beat Donald Trump?"
No. He can't.
And he won't.
I'm a Gen X'er, the lost generation apparently as all anyone talks about is boomers and millennials. That X feels more and more appropriate the older I get.
The fact is that the coastal MSM (hate that term, but...) is focussed on the discord of the Dem's completely neglecting these truths:
- Trump is still wildly popular in the midwest. (Why are the comedians the only ones pointing this out?)
- You're correct, millennials (and many X'ers) don't get the news from MSM so they don't GAF about what those dinosaurs are saying, ergo Bernie. (What is the corporate MSM agenda anyway? I gotta wonder.)
- The only two candidates who have a CHANCE at beating Trump are Sanders and Warren. (Warren is down for a seven-count, probably out.)
You're right, a debate between Biden and Trump will be a f'ing disaster. Shame on the other Dem candidates because NOT ONE FELLOW CANDIDATE held Biden's feet to the fire about his Crime Act, his bankruptcy bill, his vote for war (ok, on that they did a little) and all the other missteps he's made after being in Congress for 45+ years...they may have danced around the subjects, but does anyone think Trump is gonna hold back? He sure as hell isn't gonna dance around it, regardless of truth (which is bad enough) Trump'll go for the kill. And Biden will be unable to defend himself.
Gird your loins, we're getting four more years of that lying orange walking disaster and knucklehead.
Donald Trump CAN be beaten...just not by Joe Biden.
If Democratic leadership (and Bloomberg's millions) had an iota of brains and an ounce of testosterone, they'd accept the defeat here and focus on the state level and try to keep the House and overturn the Senate. The ONLY hope if Biden gets the nod, is creating a lame-duck presidency.
Trump is a monster now...take a moment and think what he would be like in a second term, with control of both the House and the Senate?
Be afraid.
Be very afraid.
====
Keith R. Higgons
_______________________________________
Reflecting on your comments spurs me to recall the Letter from Birmingham City Jail, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., where he had been imprisoned for a peaceful protest. The letter was in response to white religious community leaders who had written, and in their writing stated now is not a good time to "peacefully demonstrate", i.e. it is "unwise and untimely"...in other words "wait" ...
In his letter, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. presents extremism as being a desirable quality found in the greatest thinkers and leaders of Western culture, which not only turns the label into a term of praise but also positions him alongside individuals who successfully changed the way people see the world. Bernie Sanders is being painted as "extreme".
In comparison, I suppose Trump is extreme, (perhaps on the surface) as compared to his predecessors, as some pundits believe explains his previous electability. He has resurrected a way people see the world (a view I recall as "old school").
Thank god for the youth...we need them, always have and always will..."Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has" -Margaret Meade.
I do recall a keynote you delivered I believe in Nashville years ago, including the advent of the streaming industry...it has taken some years to get here, but we are here!
Even a portion of the Bernie Sanders vision, carried by the young adults we will soon pass the torch to (which is inevitable), would be better than duplicating the same, with slightly different packaging...
Have a great day!
Best regards,
Kevin Meyer
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