(ThyBlackMan.com) Super Tuesday could not have delivered a more resounding referendum on what Democratic voters want in 2020. It was an affirmation and a repudiation: An affirmation of calls for unity and a repudiation of calls for revolution. It also said something about the power of money in politics.
The Democrat wing of the Democratic Party, otherwise called moderates, delivered a sweeping nationwide victory for Joe Biden winning in New England (Maine and Massachusetts), the border states (Virginia and Tennessee), the deep south (North Carolina, Alabama and Arkansas) the mid-west (Minnesota) and the southwest (Texas and Oklahoma).
Defying the media’s sorting of voters by identity – gender, race, education and age – voters uniformly reported the most important issue was defeating the man in the Oval Office. While acknowledging the country may have “99 problems” as Jay-Z put it, even Elizabeth ‘I got a plan for that’ Warren voters in her home state of Massachusetts agreed with six-in-ten voters across the other Super Tuesday states that beating Trump was problem number one. She finished third there behind Biden and Sanders.
Super Tuesday’s results should not have come as a complete surprise. Looking back at the 2018 mid-term elections, so-called moderates won back the House of Representatives while candidates running on the Sanders-backed “Our Revolution” slate failed miserably. The same held true on Super Tuesday as candidates backed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ “Courage to Change” slate failed to win congressional races in Texas and California.
Further evidence “the revolution” was not ready for prime-time, the “progressive” candidate’s claims of creating a movement to bring in hordes of new voters proved not to pan out. While there was a voter surge with some states exceeding their 2008 high watermark totals, those votes broke sharply for Biden. Sanders underperformed in states he won in 2016 and across the board almost everywhere in 2020.
Super Tuesday also burst some myths about the overriding power of money in politics. While money is an absolute necessity, it cannot overcome every obstacle, or provide every advantage, assuring an electoral victory. Tom Steyer spent heavily in South Carolina not to win a single delegate and the half-billion dollars Mike Bloomberg spent bought him a victory only in American Samoa.
Joe Biden had one field office in Virginia where he won 63% of the vote and he never set foot, or ran ads, in either Minnesota (38.6%) or Massachusetts (33.4%) where he won both. He had, and spent, less money than everyone else and got more votes. Claims that he won as a tool of the billionaire class ring hollow in light of these facts. That’s not to say that Bloomberg’s endorsement, and resources, after he dropped out of the race won’t help Biden’s campaign immeasurably from here on.
The Democratic Party needs to stop its hand-wringing and listen to what the majority of its voters have said. The priority is beating Trump and they have the votes to win elections by maximizing their traditional base plus adding suburban and college educated whites. The 2018 election victories and Super Tuesday results are confirmation of that.
If progressives really believe Trump is an existential threat to our democracy, they will concede that the coalition that swept Biden over the top on Super Tuesday is the path to winning in November too, and come along with their contingent of young and Latino voters. As important as it was, Biden’s margin of victory was due to more than a surging black vote in the south, especially when looking at the demographics of Maine and Minnesota and wins there.
The Democrat wing won more states, more votes and more delegates. After stamping out the Bernie Sanders led brushfire-rebellion, it will be time for Democrats to turn their full attention and resources to winning the general election in the fall. And not just the presidency, but the down-ballot races as well. With that accomplished, there can be an honest debate among the victors about the future of our country.
Staff Writer; Harry Sewell
