@Cap’n Rusty, why do you believe that the eventual Democratic nominee will be made to face “rough questions . . . in a [so-called] debate with Trump”?

CNN appears to have launched an attack on Bernie last night. They sided with Warren on the accusation of sexism. The Dem establishment may be scared of Bernie’s ideas. Wall Street certainly doesn’t like him. The Veritas vids may have enhanced that effect.

I didn’t see anyone on the stage who could hold a candle to Trump in a debate or even on the stump. But there is a lot of money looking for a better answer than the present crew.

Bloomberg, who wasn’t in the debate, is running commercials non-stop here in Washington. They’re well crafted and all about………..people’s fears about healthcare. That issue ran very well in the 2018 mid terms – at least here in Washington state. Trump and the Republicans need to have a concrete plan to replace Obamacare. No vague promises – real meat. Even though there are only about 30 million people in the Obamacare population, many people are aghast at the way costs are going up and fearful of the future . Medicare for all or all who want it, sounds pretty good to a lot of people. Few understand how socialized medicine tends to migrate toward careless practices and rationing. This is an issue that the Republicans need to get moving on.

Bloomberg seems to be positioning himself to be a possibility in a brokered convention or as a king maker behind the scenes. He’s dedicated one billion dollars to the effort. That ain’t hay.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/wall-street-democratic-donors-may-back-trump-if-warren-is-nominated.html

That was back in the fall, so maybe they have changed their minds.
Duck-Duck-Go didn’t turn up anything more recent.
However, I doubt if their reasoning has changed any.
Is she making secret side deals, perhaps?

https://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2020/01/15/sanders-campaign-staffers-are-locking-down-their-accounts-after-project-veritas-expose/

https://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2020/01/15/project-veritas-releases-second-video-featuring-sanders-staffer-promising-murder-and-violence/

Liawatha versus a Commie.(I go by what Bernie has said about Cuba.) Goodness gracious.

They spent two hours basically saying that America is broken and needs fixing. Bernie, Biden and Warren sounded like their political views were fixed in their minds 40 years ago, and they’re still playing that worn-out record.

If the DNC had wanted to produce a candidate with a chance, these debates would have Hannity, Maria Bartolimo and Dan Bongino as moderators, asking the rough questions they’ll have to face in a debate with Trump.

I think that the Democratic Party machine and the MSM machine have decided to prevent that, because they’re wealthy enough — and Bernie’s serious enough — that his plans would impoverish them, and that is “something up with which they shall not put.”

I think we see this collaboration to torpedo Bernie in how the kerfuffle re: Fauxcahontas and her “a woman can’t beat Trump” claim was covered.

Now, it’s perfectly obvious that he didn’t, in fact, say that to her. After all, Hillary Clinton got the majority of the votes last time out: From his perspective, a woman already beat Trump, except for the pedandtic detail of the Electoral College math (I’m speaking as if I were a Democrat, here). Moreover, Bernie has credibility: He’s a loon, but he’s perfectly open about every loony idea in his head. There’s really not a lot of camouflage or even protective coloration; he’s just bright red, all the time. He was directly asked whether he said anything like that to Warren, and he unequivocally stated that, no, he never said it.

Since saying such a thing makes no sense from his point-of-view, I believe him. If we didn’t already know Liz Warren was a liar, I might doubt that judgment; but we do know that.

So, Liz Warren basically walked up to Bernie and stuck a shiv in his back because she reasoned he was likely her chief obstacle to cinching the nomination. (The late Joe Biden notwithstanding.) Liz needs Bernie out of the way because she’s positioned herself as the younger, more-female alternative with the same warm pink center. She reasons that, with him gone and his former supporters adding to her own numbers, it becomes a two-person race between her and Biden, and once that dynamic is in play, she can knock the somnambulant Biden out and take the nomination.

Now, the MSM can report that as a he-said/she-said, if they’re willing to be evenhanded with Bernie. But is that what they did? Nope. The relevant reporterette heard Bernie’s flat denial, and then turned to Warren and asked something like, “So tell me, when Bernie said that to you, how did that make you feel?”

In short, it’s a lie, but the MSM is going to play it as the truth.

So, I think that both the party — just like last time — and the MSM — more so than last time — are going to conspire to prevent Bernie getting the nomination.

“Aha!” one might say, “but Trump shows that it’s possible to get past the MSM and Party Power!”

Yeah, but that’s Trump, and in the Republican Party. Trump has massively better skill at manipulating the MSM’s focus of attention — look! racially-insensitive squirrel! — than Bernie does. And the Democrats have tools in their nomination process which grant extra power to the party, which the GOP process lacks.

So, I think the fix is in, just like last time. Bernie will be shut out.

I’m less-sure whether the Dem Machine is trying to keep Biden, or throw it to Warren. But people who’re not under the control of that machine (not just Bernie, but also Yang and of course Gabbard) are being fed the illusion of participation. Gabbard took no time at all to realize that. I think Bernie has figured it out, too.

None of them have a chance against Trump, really.

There will, of course, be an October Surprise. It’s SOP, one of the standard moves in the Democratic Playbook.

Wonder what it’ll be? More strippers and playmates?

She’s a technocrat, she’s one of them… a credentialed mandarin… and she’s the least like Trump when it comes to inspiring and connecting with the electorate.

She lacks passion. She’s no populist.

But the flip side of a lack of emotional rapport with the voters is NO CRAZIES in her camp. She’s the most stable and least liable to sudden collapse in this regard (and that’s hilarious.)

On the other hand, out of all the other candidates… Trump included… the quality of her arguments matters most. Trump has real accomplishments. Bernie has real foot soldiers. Biden has real connections. What’s Lizzy got?

When you’re all talk, you’d better be good.

If she can’t straighten out her messaging, patch up the Medicare for all idea, go back to being professor know-it-all with a plan for everything, she’s in trouble.

But she can attack and drag the others down until she finds her footing.

Either Bernie or Biden can be portrayed as an ersatz Trump.

Bernie is just left-wing Trump, with his propensity to inspire violence.

Biden is also left-wing Trump, because of his corruption and that of those in his orbit.

I guess that makes Booty-guy Gay-Trump or something.