The Skeletons in Bernie’s Closet

or why Bernie can’t win the general election

Bernie Sanders at AFGE event — AFGE via Wikimedia Commons licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

Full disclosure: I voted for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Pennsylvania primary. I loved him. Remember the little bird that landed on his podium? I thought that was a beautiful omen.

I still love Bernie's policies.

But now I understand that there are at least three reasons Bernie Sanders cannot win the general election.

1. Republicans will crucify Sanders on the cross of Socialism.

Sanders defines himself as a Democratic Socialist. His fans who think that’s a good thing are mostly too young to remember why Socialism is anathema to many Americans. After all, Hitler’s Nazi Party was officially called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Of course, they weren’t really socialists, but the less politically educated among us do not know that. They just remember the name of the Nazi Party, and that reflects poorly on Democratic Socialism.

In fact, a Pew Research poll in October 2019 found that

55% of Americans had a negative impression of “socialism,” while 42% expressed a positive view. About two-thirds (65%) said they had a positive view of “capitalism,” and a third viewed it negatively.