Plenty of people in political media are taking note of the large crowds Bernie Sanders is drawing at his events, but at the end of the day, it still might not be enough for Sanders to trounce Clinton.
Philip Bump of the Washington Post recently took a hard look at the numbers:
100,000 people have attended Bernie Sanders events this month. That doesn’t mean much.Some 28,000 people attended Bernie Sanders’s rally in Portland, Ore., on Sunday — both in the venue and watching outside. The Fix’s Chris Cillizza marveled at the turnout. “28,000 people! In August! Of an off year!” Cillizza wrote. “I mean, that is a lot. A LOT.”It’s an amount that exceeds one out of every 10 people who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 in Multnomah County, in fact. And then, the next day, Sanders pulled the same number in Los Angeles — meaning that in seven events since July 1, Sanders spoke before 100,000 people.So what does this mean? I hate to say it — and I hate to rain on Sanders’ well-attended parade — but: It doesn’t mean a whole lot.For example. That Los Angeles crowd was only about 1 percent of the people that voted for Obama in 2012 in that county. Because it’s a big county and it’s a small venue that can only hold so many! Which is the point: It’s impossible to know what a crowd size means. Is turning out 2.2 percent of Obama’s 2012 vote in Seattle good?
Dan Springer of FOX News reports that Sanders is campaigning in Iowa this weekend and that he may be too far left for Iowa voters. Also, despite Hillary Clinton’s enthusiasm gap, she still has the fundraising advantage:
Another thing that continues to present a problem for Sanders is that although he’s running for the Democratic nomination, he’s technically not a Democrat. Even Martin O’Malley is hitting him for that.
Jeremy Diamond of CNN reported:
O’Malley swipes at Sanders in IowaMartin O’Malley thinks Bernie Sanders might have a long-term problem: He’s an avowed socialist.The former Maryland governor — Sanders’ foremost progressive challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination — made the observation Thursday at the Iowa State Fair.”I don’t think it’s a problem for the Democratic Party, but it might be a problem long-term for Sen. Sanders,” O’Malley said when asked whether Sanders’s self-declared socialism would be a problem.
Featured image via YouTube.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY