Gamecock Fight!
Four godforsaken years I've waited for the media to finally vet Bernard Sanders. For four years, they ignored my pleas.
But now, thanks to the premature idea that Sanders could potentially run away with the Democratic nomination, our friends in the media are suddenly realizing what we out here in the blogosphere have already known: Bernie Sanders has a metric ton of baggage.
What we've seen since the Nevada caucus is but the tip of the iceberg. While the fact that Sanders' rape essay is actually news may be a shock to those of us here, the fact is that 99% of Americans had no idea this little unpleasant tidbit about him. Combined with Sanders' disastrous 60 Minutes episode with Anderson Cooper and we're seeing just what happens when our media decides it must knock the frontrunner down a peg in order to have its much-needed horserace. For four years, Bernie Sanders insisted he was being ignored by the media. Now that he has its spotlight, he is now bitching and moaning that the media is treating him very badly. Like Donald Trump, Sanders wants it both ways and like Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders is simply unable to stand up to real, legitimate concerns about him, his record, and how he governs.
Tonight, we head to the Palmetto State for the last democratic debate before Super Tuesday. Knives out isn't simpy a movie in theaters, it's a requirement to participate in tonight's marquee event. Warren versus Bloomberg. Klobucher versus "the mayor." Steyer versus reality. Everyone (minus Warren) versus Bernie. The last debate with Bloomberg was the most-watched Democratic primary debate of all-time and this one aims to surpass it. With the Branch Bernidians declaring war on everyone that questions their High Sparrow and five candidates willing to go there tonight, get ready for an all-out social media shitshow, and with BernieBros and their indistinguishable Russian bot counterparts swirling around on social media, this could get ugly fast. Fortunately, every time they smear and attack another person online, they play right into the narrative that they are out-of-control and that Papa Bernie is both unwilling and unable to corral them.
Enjoy tonight, compadres. It's not every day that Bernard Sanders gets his comeuppance. It's a day that has been four years in the making. All of us who have been #VettingBernie like it's our job will certainly enjoy it, even if the moment is fleeting. For the first time in four years, we are openly discussing the massive risk that a Bernie Sanders nomination would present, not just to this country but to the world. For the 80% of Americans who aren't on Twitter, this will be an introduction to the Bernie Sanders we've always known: an unqualified, misogynistic, do-nothing senator who has twice used the Democratic Party to spout off impossible policies and promises all while enriching himself and his family. He's the Trump of the left; a two-bit conman who has suckered in a generation of naive college grads with delusions of grandeur. The sooner mainstream America sees him for who he truly is, the sooner we can end this four-year nightmare in the White House that Bernie helped to create.
This is your Charleston Democratic Debate open thread, with free #VettingBernie Bingo card attached!