“For all those of you who’ve been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign. Join Us!” Biden proclaimed to the cheering crowd.
Joe Biden was not supposed to win big on Super Tuesday. He was predicted to eke out a few states in the south but Bernie was going to dominate. Biden, it was widely agreed, would be lucky at the end of the night if he trailed Sanders in delegates by 100 or 150 which might give him a chance to catch up in later primaries. Instead, Biden racked up wins across the board in states from coast to coast: Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, MN, Maine, and Elizabeth Warren’s home state, Massachusetts, (she came in third) which means her campaign is over, and Texas, which NO ONE predicted. In fact no one predicted this huge win for Biden at all.
So, why did this happen? Why did Biden do so well on Super Tuesday and after that as well?
- One of the biggest reasons was that Pete Buttegieg and Amy Klobuchar made the decision to end their campaigns in the interest of party unity.
- It takes maturity and vision that what you are doing is for the good of the party and the country. Because Pete and Amy and also Mike Bloomberg are going to work with Joe Biden instead of staying in the fight to try to beat him, the party can and is coalescing and unifying. These wonderful, talented people will become part of the all-star team that will lead America after the most divisive president we have ever had.
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More Reasons Biden is Doing Well in the Primaries:
- Impeachment was free advertising for Biden
- Even though the impeachment trial did not remove Trump from office, it worked as a stark daily reminder that Trump was corrupt and incompetent. It became clear to everyone that Trump was so afraid of Biden he would risk impeachment against dire warnings from his staff and allies, He was obsessed about finding a way to dirty up Joe Biden so he could knock him out of contention. The take away was that Trump must fear Biden the most (which is probably true) since he would risk impeachment to damage Biden’s chances to be a viable candidate.
- Every tweet to damage Biden, every bit of evidence that Trump was anxious about Biden, all of that was free advertising and unearned media for Joe. The Democratic electorate wants one thing and one thing only- the defeat of Donald Trump. He is the most detested president in the history of our country. If Trump fears Biden most, then the Dems can put 2 and 2 together. And they did.
- Americans are exhausted by Trump’s chaos and lies and yearn for stability. The pandemic is a stark reminder.
- Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Trump has been a disaster when it comes to actually governing.
- The pandemic is a sobering reminder that Trump is chaotic and struggles to tell the truth, and is a bad manager. The only way to stay safe in an unsafe world is to have a government that will not lie to us or spread misinformation and will plan ahead for disasters.
- Joe Biden is known and trusted as a man who will tell the truth and believes in facts. He is known as a man who will be a steady hand on the tiller and bring in a highly capable team to lead that will include some of the wonderful younger candidates we have gotten to know: Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke and many other capable people from the Obama era. He will be a far better leader in the pandemic crisis we now face.
- Biden represents over all stability and a return to normalcy, hope that our country can be united not divided, and a future of working together to get all Americans what they need to have successful lives. Biden is the continuation of hope and change begun by Obama.
- Jim Clyburn helped a ready, willing and able base to make up its mind
- Throughout this long drawn out primary, Democrats said they were uncertain about who to vote for as the painful process of winnowing down from some 20 hopeful candidates led to one confusing and raucus debate after another. There was widespread general consensus that whoever the nominee would be would have the vote of terrified Democrats who could not wait to end Trump’s administration. The idea of voting blue for any Democrat had become a given. But which Democrat was the right one? That became the big unanswered question.
- In this election cycle the Democratic party leaders like Tom Perez had vowed not to put their thumb on the scale for any one candidate and they stuck to that vow. I know that for a fact because I met with Perez and others in the Democratic party and heard this determination across the board. In the interest of party unity Barack Obama and other party leaders vowed to stay silent until after the convention.
- For that reason Joe Biden did not get any donor lists from Obama or the DNC. That was one of the reasons his campaign struggled to get traction. Unlike Sanders, Biden had to start from scratch to build donors. He did not have a big war chest built up like Bernie Sanders. He is bad at asking for money. His campaign did not even have the money to build out an on the ground presence in most states. His campaign was on life support. People were writing Biden’s political obituary.
- When Clybourn robustly endorsed Biden on the eve of the South Carolina primary he answered that most pressing question for voters by saying he had faith that Joe Biden was the guy who would beat Trump and help Americans get our country back. He also gave Biden great advice: get out there and be himself, stop worrying about all the policy stuff but just be himself because that’s what people vote for- the person! not the policies. Joe listened and he upped his game. Above all, Jim Clybourn became that sign that people were waiting for. And after that, the black community in South Carolina spoke loud and clear by voting for Biden across the state, giving him a win in every single district. That helped the rest of the Democratic base know what they could believe in to get the result they so desperately want.
- Sanders was unable to expand his base.
- Even before this primary Sanders had cultivated a very engaged and loyal base of younger progressive voters who want systemic change. Socialism for them is a good thing. They love what Bernie has promised: Medicare for All, free college and the Green New Deal. And for good reason. These policies would be wonderful for them and would change their lives for the better.
- Bernie’s progressive army believed that they could expand the electorate. But even with the first four primaries, the expanded youth and converted electorate did not show up. The electorate that DID show up in greater numbers were black voters and white suburban women voters just like in 2018, and they voted for Biden not Bernie.
- Bloomberg never gained traction.
- Even though Bloomberg appealed immediately to former Republicans and suburban corporate and financial types as the kind of leader they would choose to run their company or their team, Bloomberg seemed to the rest of the electorate to be “trying to buy the election.”
- Then he had two lackluster debates in which he looked arrogant and superior. This election cycle, billionaire is the new dirty word.
- Bloomberg’s ad campaign will help the Democratic nominee whoever he may be. Bloomberg is now in discussion with the Biden campaign about how to create a super PAC to support him.
- Biden picked up his game.
- In his primary efforts Biden had been showing up to small, sad, under-attended gatherings with hardly any people there. No one could explain for sure why Biden seemed not to be resonating but it might have been because he was a known quantity and people wanted to check out the new kids on the block.
- Biden was taking advice from people who wanted him to focus on policy and come across as a fighter which contradicts his core strengths as a person and the reason he is an antidote to Trump: Biden’s best trait is his ability to get along with everybody. He has genuine empathy and compassion. Like Mr. Rogers at his best he is caring, ethical, friendly, wants good lives for everyone in our country (yes, even Republicans) and has a strong faith in democracy. He can be outraged too but his anger is at Trump, not other sub groups of Americans.
- Unification is crucial as we face a growing Pandemic
- Biden is gifted at uniting people and working with people. He can put together a fact based, science based government that can protect from harm. After winning South Carolina, his campaign reached out to other moderate candidates who could see the handwriting on the wall for themselves. Biden’s campaign asked for support from other prominent Democrats before Super Tuesday and a number responded with endorsements. A rally in Texas was organized. Amy, Pete and Beto all showed up to that rally and gave heartfelt endorsements.
- Biden’s humanity and humility was on display for all to see as he gratefully thanked his former rivals and welcomed them to his growing all star team to take back America. All of these capable, humane people we have come to know are going to be part of the next administration.
- This is what we in America need to heal after 4 years of Trump and now a terrifying pandemic that is wreaking havoc with our lives and our economy. We must come together as a strong supportive team to regain our country. Biden is the one who can lead us there.
