Media treatment of Bernie Sanders: a story in pictures

[Toni]

Act 1...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-2020-campaign-lobbyist-money_n_5cc111dce4b0764d31dc8586

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquisition_of_NBC_Universal_by_Comcast
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MSNBC gives Biden an extra 3% on live TV to put him over Bernie:
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Act 2...

https://www.businessinsider.com/ber...minimum-wage-raise-stop-bezos-act-win-2018-10
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https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-23582797/amazon-boss-jeff-bezos-buys-washington-post-for-250m
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Washington Post alters length of bar in graph to inflate Biden's lead over Sanders in poll:
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Act 3...

https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1123039853573279745
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The report:
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/20...r-money-behind-not-just-the-democratic-women/
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So, what happens when you don't just look at itemized contributions?
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~fin~

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Disclaimer: these are not the only examples of media mistreatment of candidates, either in terms of the network/outlet or the candidate, but I'm particularly interested in them because they are so blatant and easy to spot (and because I think Bernie is particularly hated by some--not all--outlets). We always hear about Fox News doing this kind of shit, but it's happening in the liberal media too.

I hate to point out the obvious, but the race is over. The economy continues to boom. 40% of America loves Trump. They will all vote. And that is all the margin that he needs. The dems remain divided. 2020 is over folks. The democratic primary is really about 2024. Biden, Sanders and Warren will be in assisted living before 2024! The dems need to find some younger people who can keep the hope going for 24.

You must be super worried about Trump then, if age is what you are focused on. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and in fact, every candidate except for Biden and Sanders are younger than Trump. Based. on his appearances and speeches and communications at every level, Trump shows a very obvious and serious and extremely concerning intellectual and mental and emotional decline compared with him 20 or even 10 years ago, and certainly compared with all other candidates.

 

[PyramidHead]

Act 329: There Is No Number Between 1 and 3, So Stop Asking About This "2" Thing, You Absolute Dunce, You Fool

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Sanders is not a Democrat. It doesn't matter that he filed to run as one either before or since, he is not a Democrat. He rightfully should not be mentioned at all in the same breath as the actual Democrats running, let alone in regard to any polling of Democrats, even if there are some who like him.

On top of that, he is widely hated by a large majority of Democrats and deservedly so. A very good argument can be made that it his fault entirely that we have Trump to begin with.

He has no privilege; no rights; no automatic inclusion, other than what the bullied saps at the DNC can tolerate. To put it into yiddish, he's a schnorrer. A few years ago, he crashed someone else's party--with his obnoxious friends who were likewise not invited--who then proceeded to eat everything, drink everything, change the music to the shit they like and yelled at everyone to do as they demanded and was just generally rude, boorish and unwelcome and yet not only refused to leave, shat on the floor and indignantly complained that someone had shat on the floor and forced others to clean it up, losing certain people their jobs in the process.

Some of his immature young friends thought that was all really funny, because they mistakenly believed they were crashing a John Hughes house party, when in fact it was the Joad's house, but their righteous indignation blinded them to the reality of what they thought they were tearing down.

So, yeah, fuck him and the whore he came out of.

 

[PyramidHead]

...Act 329, continued

It's like there's an editorial guideline for article titles that designates Bernie as "he who must not be named"



Act 330: As Polling Analyst for CNN and Fivethirtyeight, I Present This Wholly Comprehensive Array of Choices That Is Not At All Manufacturing Consent



Act 331: I dare you to find one rationale, one, that explains the order in which these candidates are listed

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Sanders is not a Democrat. It doesn't matter that he filed to run as one either before or since, he is not a Democrat. He rightfully should not be mentioned at all in the same breath as the actual Democrats running, let alone in regard to any polling of Democrats, even if there are some who like him.

On top of that, he is widely hated by a large majority of Democrats and deservedly so. A very good argument can be made that it his fault entirely that we have Trump to begin with.

He energized the left-wing, got a good deal of his platform on the DNC platform, and supported Hillary Clinton. He didn't cost Clinton the election.

So, yeah, fuck him and the whore he came out of.

Jebus man! Tell us how you really feel.

 

[PyramidHead]

widely hated by a large majority of Democrats

Either all of the respondents in this poll are non-Democrats (in which case Bernie has the most stunning crossover appeal of any candidate) or Koy was talking about Democratic politicians, in which case we should be deeply suspicious of a political organization whose officials are unified against a candidate who is loved by the voters they claim to represent. Between the Democratic establishment and the Democratic voters, the voters should be the ones to decide the direction and priorities of the party, otherwise why call themselves "democrats"?

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

It's customary to actually link to your sources. Like this Quinnipac poll from last week, that was specifically addressing Democrats and Independents with a Democratic Lean ("Dem/Lean"), where 88% of Dems were paying "some" to "a lot" of attention to the campaigns as compared to a total of only 77% Dem/Lean.

When asked if the primary was held today, who they'd vote for, 22% of Dems said Biden, while only 12% said Sanders. Of Dem/Lean, 24% said Biden, and only 10% said Sanders (so even worse among Indies).

In fact, for the past five months, now, Sanders has never broken 19% total Dems and Dem/Lean combined as the preferred candidate.

When asked:

(If Democrat or Democratic leaner) Regardless of how you intend to vote in the Democratic primary for president, which candidate do you think - would be the best leader?

27% of Dems said Biden to only 12% Sanders. But among the Dem/Lean they tied at 24%. So there's a silver lining for you.

Unfortunately, it's taken away by the fact that this also means that a good 88% of Dems don't like Sanders, don't think Sanders would make a good leader and that 76% of Dem/Leans feel likewise.

And when the question is:

(If Democrat or Democratic leaner) Regardless of how you intend to vote in the Democratic primary for president, which candidate do you think - has the best chance of winning against Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election?

42% of Dems think Biden and 40% of Dem/Leans think Biden. Sanders? Dem/Leans only give him 21%, while Dems just 11%.

AND, just to add insult to injury, in regard to:

(If Democrat or Democratic leaner) Regardless of how you intend to vote in the Democratic primary for president, which candidate do you think - has the best policy ideas?

Sanders actually beats Biden among Dems (15% to 11% respectively) AND Dem/Leans (a whopping 27% to 11%)!

Which all adds up to a powerful dislike of the man himself.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/16/politics/cnn-2020-poll-new-hampshire/index.html



While the table has accurate numbers, they've put Sanders at the bottom row and did this weird arrangement of bottom tier candidates above him but to the right. They could just have easily put the bottom tier candidates below him, put him above Warren or on the same level as Warren. It's weird! Never seen a graphic like this one with one guy at the bottom with no one next to him who is tied for second place.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

In the opening text before that graphic, they put Warren before Sanders and then Sanders before Warren:

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders sit atop the field of Democratic presidential contenders among likely primary voters in New Hampshire, according to a new CNN poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire.

Overall, 24% say they back Biden, while 19% each support Sanders and Warren. The five-point margin between Biden and the two senators matches the survey's margin of sampling error.

The formatting of the graphic is likely an aesthetic choice so that they don't just have a single column of names and numbers. Regardless, it is unmistakable that they are making clear that Warren and Sanders are tied and Biden is in the lead.

Note also from the actual poll results that Sanders' numbers have plummeted from April while Warren's have significantly increased, thus rightly putting her ahead of Sanders in the placement, regardless of the current tie:

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

...Act 329, continued

It's like there's an editorial guideline for article titles that designates Bernie as "he who must not be named"

View attachment 22448

Act 330: As Polling Analyst for CNN and Fivethirtyeight, I Present This Wholly Comprehensive Array of Choices That Is Not At All Manufacturing Consent

View attachment 22446

Act 331: I dare you to find one rationale, one, that explains the order in which these candidates are listed

View attachment 22447

This is pretty damn funny, and scary, and sad.

The media tried to ignore Bernie in 2016. Now he is more prominent and a name known to most people, so they have to engage in these second level games.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

On top of that, he is widely hated by a large majority of Democrats and deservedly so. A very good argument can be made that it his fault entirely that we have Trump to begin with.

LOL No dear, it is Hillary who has that honour. Bernie was at worst a stark reminder and contrast to Hillary's empty platitudes and "no we can't ; no magical ponies" attitude. He was an actual progressive candidate. She wasn't. He also served as the target for her "Bernie Bros" nonsense (though that was as much or more the media than herself), which was an attempt to attack Bernie with identity politics because Hillary is a woman. It backfired on her come the general when Trump rightly pointed out she was trying to use the "woman card".

Bernie actually made a point NOT to attack Hillary on irrelevancies. He famously said he had had enough of her damn emails being an issue. He has always been fixated almost entirely on policy, and on bringing the workers back to the party and the party focus back on the workers and the people, rather than on the billion dollar donors and corporations.

So, yeah, fuck him and the whore he came out of.

If not for Bernie, you'd not have much traction for folks like AOC, Warren, etc. Bernie opened the door to the left within the Democratic Party. Before him was Occupy Wall Street. It has been slow progress, but it has been progress. The corporate democrats like Hillary have had their time. Its time for the party to return to the people.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/16/politics/cnn-2020-poll-new-hampshire/index.html

View attachment 22544

While the table has accurate numbers, they've put Sanders at the bottom row and did this weird arrangement of bottom tier candidates above him but to the right. They could just have easily put the bottom tier candidates below him, put him above Warren or on the same level as Warren. It's weird! Never seen a graphic like this one with one guy at the bottom with no one next to him who is tied for second place.

I won't lose sleep on that one. It is a little awkward, but the color pulls your attention to the left and it is pretty clear Sanders is polling higher.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

I won't lose sleep on that one. It is a little awkward, but the color pulls your attention to the left and it is pretty clear Sanders is polling higher.

Yeah that one is a bit of a reach. But some of the others posted above are pretty shocking.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

On top of that, he is widely hated by a large majority of Democrats and deservedly so. A very good argument can be made that it his fault entirely that we have Trump to begin with.

LOL No dear, it is Hillary who has that honour.

Lol, no little girl, it's not. She beat him by almost three million counted votes (and by upwards of ten million when you include the preference voters who, for various non-partisan reasons, were not able to or felt there was no need to cast their ballots).

I know you aren't intelligent enough to comprehend how someone can win something and still lose something else, but it will never change the facts.

 

[southernhybrid]

May I ask why you guys are still arguing over the last election when it's been over for more than two years? Voter turn out was poor in the states that Hillary lost. A lot of people were simply tired of the Clintons. I have friends who were stupid enough to vote 3rd party because they worshipped Bernie. I just hope that this doesn't happen again if the candidate isn't exciting or progressive enough for these idiots who helped Trump win. But, can we move on....

I'm not fan of Bernie, but unlike my spoiled brat friends who refused to vote for Clinton, I will vote for whoever the candidate ends up being, even if it's somebody that I don't like, or who's policies I don't like or who I think is unrealistic etc. I've been voting since 1972 and I've voted for plenty of people who I didn't like, who weren't my first or second choice etc.

We really need to be more concerned with keeping the House and taking back the Senate. Despite what Trump thinks, a president doesn't have as much power as he thinks, and a president is supposed to represent all of the citizens, and not just his or her base. Far left and far right never seem to understand that! So, even if Bernie were somehow elected president, he's not going to get much of what he wants. Most Democrats are closer to the center than people like Bernie. If he were to become president, he would have to be willing to compromise or nothing will get done. I do believe that Warren is a much better candidate. Although she won't get many of her plans passed, it's obvious that she understands the need to compromise with those who don't agree with her. I'm not so sure about Bernie.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

On top of that, he is widely hated by a large majority of Democrats and deservedly so. A very good argument can be made that it his fault entirely that we have Trump to begin with.

LOL No dear, it is Hillary who has that honour.

Lol, no little girl, it's not. She beat him by almost three million counted votes (and by upwards of ten million when you include the preference voters who, for various non-partisan reasons, were not able to or felt there was no need to cast their ballots).

I know you aren't intelligent enough to comprehend how someone can win something and still lose something else, but it will never change the facts.

Read your own text I bolded, dumb ass. Her winning the popular vote meant exactly how much towards you having Trump as your President? She failed. You have Trump because of it. Congratulations.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Her winning the popular vote meant exactly how much towards you having Trump as your President?

Nothing, as it turned out.

She failed.

If winning the popular vote meant nothing toward our having Trump as President then she could not have failed, dipshit.

 

[PyramidHead]

This thread is not about the 2016 election, which is the first election in our nation's history and therefore the only one we can appeal to for lessons about what works and what doesn't, or about whose supporters are/were willing to vote for their primary opponents, or about primary candidates not dropping out of a race when it was apparent they couldn't win.

In particular, there definitely weren't elections in 2004, 2008, and 2012 that showed anything noteworthy in this regard, especially not involving people named Clinton, Kerry, and Obama, nor their supporters, nor were there other political parties with primaries whose candidates and supporters we can examine for trends.

There is nothing to learn, because history actually started in 2016, the year Donald Trump spontaneously materialized in the midst of an otherwise perfectly functional representative democracy and somehow won (probably by appealing to moderates, running a civil campaign, having detailed policy proposals that were likely to translate into legislation, and embracing bipartisanship, since that's the only way anybody ever wins an election).

What matters is that most voters respond to nuance, practicality, sensibility, incrementalism, compromise, free market solutions, affordable access, and means-testing, which explains all that we need to know about 2016, the only election that has ever occurred in the United States, when 99% of Americans came out to vote for their choice of President, Senator, or Congressperson and chose the ones with the most plans and the best bills

 

[Elixir]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/16/politics/cnn-2020-poll-new-hampshire/index.html

View attachment 22544

While the table has accurate numbers, they've put Sanders at the bottom row and did this weird arrangement of bottom tier candidates above him but to the right. They could just have easily put the bottom tier candidates below him, put him above Warren or on the same level as Warren. It's weird! Never seen a graphic like this one with one guy at the bottom with no one next to him who is tied for second place.

I won't lose sleep on that one. It is a little awkward, but the color pulls your attention to the left and it is pretty clear Sanders is polling higher.

If I don't see another "poll among democrats" until 2021, it will be too soon. Right now, those polls are for selling drugs and insurance and nothing more. They are less than meaningless because the vast majority of dem voters are going to vote for whoever opposes Trump in the general election, whether it was their first choice or their 21st choice.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

She failed.

If winning the popular vote meant nothing toward our having Trump as President then she could not have failed, dipshit.

She failed to win the presidency, dipshit. That's why you have President Trump, which is what you were trying to say Bernie can arguably be blamed for. No, it isn't on him. It's on her. All he did was try to save you from what she did to you.