[AltaGuy]

Some candy for Cliff in the NYT opinion section: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/02/o...democrats.html

The Democratic Party is facing disruption from the top. In the early stages of the current political season, Democratic rank and file seem to be embracing Biden and his traditional Democratic themes. It’s the coastal, highly educated elites who are fed up and want something transformative.

In other words, the Republican story is a story of populist radicalization; the Democratic story so far is a story of elite radicalization.

The Diploma Divide among Democrats this year isn’t as stark as the one between Republicans in 2016. Joe Biden is popular among all Democratic groups. For example, according to a recent CNN poll, he’s just as popular as Bernie Sanders among people who call themselves “very liberal.”

But, there may be a growing Democratic Diploma Divide. As Martin Longman points out in Washington Monthly, less-educated, older voters are more likely to support Biden. Bernie Sanders, with his more outsiderish, disruptive campaign, is more competitive with more educated, younger voters.

In 2020, if you live on the coasts, follow politics intensely and hang around college-educated people, it’s easy to think that the disruptive Democratic forces have the upper hand. If AOC shows up on your Twitter feed every 30 seconds, then you were probably surprised by the giant lead Biden has established since announcing his candidacy. Seemingly nobody on Twitter supports Biden.

If you live in these circles, it’s worth remembering that a majority of Democrats are over 50. In a recent Gallup survey, a majority of Democrats said the party would be better off moving to the center than to the left.

In short, don’t underestimate the Democratic rank and file.