Thread by @saletan

Don't listen to pundits who tell you Bernie Sanders would be a disastrous nominee.

Do listen to these polls. They show exactly how Trump would destroy him. bit.ly/310nBFO

52% of voters, including 25% of Democrats and 29% of liberal leaners, say they'd never vote for a socialist even if he insists, as Sanders does, that he's a “democratic" socialist.

Subtract those people from Democratic turnout, and you’re in deep trouble. bit.ly/310nBFO

20% of likely voters who express a very favorable view of Sanders also say they wouldn't vote for a candidate who calls himself a socialist.

What happens when those voters find out Sanders is a socialist? How many of them could Democrats afford to lose? bit.ly/310nBFO

If you hang out with young progressives, you might think socialism is popular. But in every survey, Americans soundly reject it. In a showdown between capitalism and socialism, socialism gets trounced. bit.ly/310nBFO

You could argue that socialism is just a cosmetic term, and what really matters are Sanders’ policies. But on the biggest issue, health insurance, Sanders is proposing exactly what voters don’t like about socialism: a state monopoly. bit.ly/310nBFO

Every poll shows the public option is a winner, and Medicare for All is a loser.

Support for public health insurance falls by 26 points, and opposition to it rises by 36 points, when Democrats turn from progressive capitalism to Sanders-style socialism. bit.ly/310nBFO

Sanders risks a backlash over taxes, promising massive benefits with no idea how much they’d cost. And his past statements—praising communist countries, opposing charities, blaming cancer on sexual repression—would help Trump frame him as a crazy radical. bit.ly/310nBFO