Former Sanders strategist says it'd be 'irrational' to 'keep this thing going'
Even Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) former chief strategist thinks it might be time to hang up the campaign boots after former Vice President Joe Biden had another strong night, including winning the coveted Michigan primary Tuesday, The Atlantic reports.
Tad Devine, who is unaffiliated with the Sanders campaign this year, but served as a senior strategist for the senator's 2016 bid, said "there is no path to victory," especially considering Biden's base is turning out at higher rates. "It's just that simple," Devine said.
Sanders continued his ultimately unsuccessful run against Hillary Clinton in 2016 until June, but Devine believes sticking around that long again would be bad news for Democrats and Biden, who he says probably needs "the spring and the summer without Bernie." But Devine thinks the "smart" and "reasonable" Sanders will recognize that it's "irrational" to keep the campaign going precisely for that reason.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sanders' chances are certainly dwindling, The Atlantic reports, but some folks do want him to stick around for the next debate against Biden on Sunday, where he may still have an opportunity to prove he's better suited to take on President Trump head-to-head. "The stampede toward Biden was remarkably fast," said Robert Reich, a liberal economist and former labor secretary under President Bill Clinton. "That shows that his support is not absolutely steadfast, so it's at least possible that if his debate performance is very bad on Sunday, Bernie Sanders could have a renaissance." Read more at The Atlantic.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Political cartoons for November 15Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include cowardly congressmen, a Macy's parade monster, and more
-
Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
-
The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
