Bernie the electable

It's time for Democratic elites to stop the Bernie bashing. He's just as likely as any other candidate to beat Donald Trump.

Bernie Sanders.
(Image credit: Illustrated | AP Photo/ Bill Chaplis, Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The narrow victory of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire Tuesday night makes him unquestionably the favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination. And as sure as the sun will come up tomorrow, we are about to be treated to an especially unpleasant round of anguished hand-wringing from pundits and nervous party insiders about how the self-avowed "democratic socialist" will send the whole party to a George McGovern-style electoral disaster this fall.

But rather than risk alienating young Democrats and independent voters by seeking refuge in the comfort of a Michael Bloomberg or an Amy Klobuchar, party elites should instead stop worrying and learn to feel the Bern. All available evidence suggests that he's a very good bet to defeat the president.

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David Faris

David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. He is a frequent contributor to Informed Comment, and his work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Indy Week.