Is it time for Bernie to drop out? No.
It’s over. After South Carolina, the diverse, crowded Democratic field of candidates for president suddenly dwindled down to two old white men: Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. On Super Tuesday, I and II, with everybody else out of the way, Biden and Sanders squared off. And Biden won. For all practical purposes, the 2020 Democratic presidential primary is over.
So what happens now? No sooner were the results from Michigan posted — where Biden triumphed in what Sanders’ aides had called a “must-win” for him — than several establishment Democrats started calling for Sanders to drop out of the race and leave Biden the lone candidate standing.
“This thing is decided,” gadfly political consultant James Carville said on MSNBC. “There’s no reason to keep it going even a day longer. It’s the Democratic voters that made this decision.”
Appearing on NPR the night of Super Tuesday II, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn went even further, urging the Democratic National Committee to step in and force Sanders out: “It is time for us to shut this primary down, it is time for us to cancel the rest of these debates, because you don’t do anything but get yourself in trouble if you continue in this contest when it’s obvious the numbers won’t shake out for you.”
Sounds like great advice, except it’s dead wrong. There’s no need for Sanders to drop out. Nor any reason for him to drop out. Didn’t Democrats learn anything from 2016? The animosity toward Sanders by the DNC and some leaders of the Hillary Clinton campaign after Clinton had already secured the nomination led many Sanders supporters to boycott the November election entirely, despite Sanders’ own efforts to convince them otherwise.
To those urging an abrupt end to the primary, consider two quick points. First, the No. 1 issue facing Democrats today is not who has the best plan for health care, or climate change, or any other issue. It’s who has the best chance of beating Donald Trump in November. Period. On that question, 24 states have already voted. And in those states, the vast majority of Democrats have said that Joe Biden’s the strongest. OK, so far.
But there are still 26 states to go, starting with the big states of Arizona, Illinois, Ohio and Florida on March 17, with 577 delegates at stake. Let the voters in those states have their voice as well. They’ll probably agree. Most pollsters predict they’ll also go for Joe. But let them make their own choice. Don’t cut them out.
Second point. Again, the No. 1 goal of all Democrats is denying Trump a second term. But it won’t be easy. To that end, they’re going to need the enthusiastic support of all Democrats, both Biden supporters and Sanders supporters. There’s no better way to alienate Sanders supporters forever than by forcing their man Bernie out of the race.
Fortunately, both candidates seem to recognize the importance of not pulling the plug too soon. Biden himself has not called on Sanders to drop out. And in his remarks after polls closed on Super Tuesday II, Biden reached out to Sanders supporters — “I want to thank
Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion” — and invited them to join his campaign in their common goal: “Together we’ll defeat Donald Trump.”
For his part, Sanders has already vowed to drop out if Biden has a plurality of delegates heading into the Democratic convention. And the day after Super Tuesday II, in a remarkably candid assessment of his campaign, Sanders admitted that most Democratic voters believed Biden had a better chance of beating Trump and all but acknowledged there was no longer any way he could win the nomination.
Nevertheless, Sanders insisted, while he had lost the battle for delegates, he had won the battle for ideas and would continue his campaign in order to champion progressive issues. Then, notably, without attacking Biden, he posed a series of questions — about health care, climate change, “Medicare for All” and other issues — he’d ask Biden in the next debate: “Joe, what are you going to do?”
It’s disappointing that the primary has boiled down to two old white men. But the choice between Biden and Sanders is still an important one for all Democrats to make. Democracy’s not about forcing anyone out of the race. Let the primary continue. Let the best man win. Then all join forces to defeat Donald Trump.