Robert Reich
"Bernie did well yesterday but he can't possibly win the nomination," a friend just wrote, attaching an article from the Washington Post that shows how far behind Bernie remains in delegates - but which gives only total delegate counts including superdelegates.
Wrong. The fact is:
1. Bernie won big yesterday in Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. He's now eliminated a big portion of Hillary Clinton's delegate lead. As of today, she has 54.9 percent of the pledged delegates to Bernie's 45.1 percent.
2. There are still 22 states to go with nearly 45 percent of pledged delegates still up for grabs – and Bernie has positive momentum in almost all of them.
3. Hillary Clinton's lead in superdelegates will vanish if Bernie gets a majority of pledged delegates.
4. Bernie is outpacing Hillary Clinton in fundraising. In February, he raised $42 million (from 1.4 million contributions, averaging $30 each), compared to her $30 million. In January he raised $20 million to her $15 million.
5. By any measure, the enthusiasm for Bernie is huge and keeps growing. He's packing stadiums, young people are flocking to volunteer, support is rising among the middle-aged and boomers.
Yet if you read the Washington Post or the New York Times, or watch CNN or even MSNBC, or listen to the major pollsters and pundits, you'd come to the same conclusion as my friend. Every success by Bernie is met with a story or column or talking head whose message is "but he can't possibly win."
That's the media refrain because the Democratic establishment can't conceive of the possibility Bernie will win. That's because they aren't listening to Bernie's message and its resonance among Democratic and independent voters (as well as many Republicans). They don't know how determined Americans are to reverse the increasing concentration of wealth and political power that are eroding our economy and democracy.
What do you think?
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