So, three primary contests in. three or four percent of the delagates committed. Over 50 contests left to go.

The media has essentially already called it for Sanders.

Y’know, I like Bernie Sanders. I voted for him in the primary four years ago. He’s got some wonderful ideas, which his advocacy for last time around have really shaped the discourse in the current Democratic nomination contest. That said, he’s also almost 80 years old, had a heart attack six months ago, embraces the “Democratic Socialist” label, which I don’t have a problem with, but piles of Boomers and others with limited understanding of what terms for economic systems mean associate with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and or the National Socialist German Workers Party (not entirely wrongly, in the sense that neither of these groups were particularly socialist in classical terms), rather than the economic systems of a lot of modern countries in Europe (and particularly in Scandinavia) that don’t rely solely on the magic of “markets” to ensure the public good. That Bernie doesn’t do himself any favors by defining his brand of Democratic Socialism in a particularly clear way or relating it to the American experience rather than talking about Denmark on the debate stage is going to pay the oppositive of dividends in a national election against the current incumbent.

But, with three-ish wins in the first three contests, he’s got some momentum. If the pundits’ current narrative comes to pass, I’ll happily vote for and work for the Senator from Vermont. However, for the reasons above, as well as the general toxicity of many of his supporters (the so-called “Bernie Bros”) online, I’ve got some concerns with his candidacy.

While I don’t really dislike any of the leading Democratic* candidates, if you look to the sidebar on the left, you know who I prefer.

At this point, I’m putting my enthusiasm, time, and spare change behind Senator Elizabeth Warren, because I think she makes a lot of sense. Her campaign’s had a couple of missteps (as have all of them to some degree), though I appreciate her experience, her story, and her choices of policy advocacy over the years. For her entire career, she’s been focused on economic justice through her concentration on bankrupcy law, which has given her great perspective on economic inequality, and has led her to her current philosophy of remedying such, going back to her work on the CFPB, her work in the Senate as a strong advocate for economic justice, and her many, many plans for implementing such from the White House should she get there.

The image of herself that she’s projected from the campaign trail has shifted a bit, from “unity” candidate to “fighter for the middle class”, though for anyone paying attention, it’s all been consistently her – her overarching goal (both as private citizen and as an elected official) has always been to root out corruption in government, finance, and industry, work to reduce the disparities between rich and poor, and make sure that everyone pays their fair share toward the public good. She’s looking out for everybody’s interest, whether she’s above the fray or leaving “blood and teeth on the floor” when fighting for consumer finance reform.

I’m honestly kind of frustrated that in the current campaign, she’d managed to get tagged primarily as the M4A person (and has been subject to scrutiny on her proposals to a degree that Sanders hasn’t), and momentarily lost focus, and been counted out by the media. that said, as of today, she’s tied for third in the pledged delegate count (tied with Biden), with only 80 of 3979 total pledged delegates awarded.

It’s still anybody’s game here, folks.

Given Warren’s fiery performance in the Nevada debate last week, she’s seeing a bit more of a bump in support, and I’m hoping this week heading into South Carolina, she’ll continue in that vein, which ideally should increase that momentum, especially if he continues her dominance in Tuesday’s debate. We shall see.

As for what I expect out of this week’s debate in South Carolina? It’s clear that Sanders, finally, has a target painted on him, and that he’ll, ideally, finally be subjected to the scrutiny that everyone else who’s been labeled frontrunner in the past has seen. Warren and Sanders are, in the end, ideological allies in a lot of ways, though she’s more about working within the system than he is (although for all his talk of revolution, he’s mostly played by the old boy legislative rules in his time in government), and her previous attempts to differentiate from him have faltered. That said, if she lands a few hits, and the rest of the pack (particularly Biden and Buttiegieg) land a few more, I feel that she might find herself finally making that “unity” message land – if Bernie loses support (his floor is somewhere around 20%), she’s likely to pick up some of it. Likewise, if the centrists falter (and certainly, at least a few of them will, and soon), she’s an obvious destination for them as well- she’s long been most people’s second choice according to polls.

I think she’s the best choice, honestly. I admire her greatly, and I think she’d do an amazing job. Finally, remember her eviscerating Bloomberg last week? It’s not hard to imagine the current president in the mayor’s position in late summer. That’s something I want to see.

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* – I am not a huge fan of Bloomberg; as Warren said, it’s just substituting one arrogant NYC billionaire** for another, and we really don’t need that. Also, a nyet, spaseeba to Tulsi Gabbard, but she was never in the running anyway.

** – There are serious doubts about whether the current president is actually a billionaire or not, of course.