I'll put it out there: Biden DOESN'T have to make a play for Sanders' voters...

[brooklynite]

In his speech today, Bernie Sanders claimed his campaign had won the "ideological debate" and said that Biden and the DNC needed to respond to to the issues his base voters cared about. I'm going to say: no he doesn't.

In 2016, Clinton arguably needed (and didn't get) Sanders voters on the left, BECAUSE she lost marginal centrist voters (Independents and Republicans) in the Battleground States; voters who had supported Obama but either didn't like Clinton personally or were fed up with politicians from both Parties and decided to try a "businessman".

In 2020, those marginal centrist voters are gettable by Biden because they've seen what President Trump is like and don't wan't another four years of this. They're open to a safe, moderate Democratic choice (like they had in the 2018 House races) but aren't looking for a "revolution". Those (still under-voting) people on the left are also far less likely to be in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin; and we don't need more voters from NY and California.

Doesn't mean Biden can't be accomodating to the broad issues that voters on the left care about, but he doesn't need to re-craft his policy proposals to make them happy.