By Aly Kamadia, Editor-In-Chief of iDose

Editor’s note: The following piece was written up quickly on Tuesday night.

Tuesday March the 3rd represented the most crucial voting day in the American Democratic Primary – the process the Democratic Party follows to elect a leader that will face off against Trump in November’s 2020 election. Here are four quick takeaways from yours truly:

Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders are set to be the Democratic nominee 

I’m still watching results come in (Tuesday night). And while more numbers will roll in during the days that follow, we have enough data to conclude that either Biden or Sanders will be the eventual nominee. 

Would it be better for Biden or Sanders to win?

If given a choice between Biden or Sanders, I would choose Sanders in a second. 

Trump obviously has to be beaten, which is a line you often hear on networks like CNN and MSNBC. Though a question that the mainstream media ignores is: What are the conditions that allowed for a figure like Trump to rise? And moreover, why are authoritarians rising all over the globe? 

The most powerful circumstances, which are also obvious to anyone with half a brain, are the economic hardships that people face. These struggles are thanks in large part to the particularly radical brand of globalization that’s been implemented for about four decades.

Sanders has a vision for making some real economic changes. And even though he likely wouldn’t get important legislation passed (e.g. because of the Senate), it’s better than Biden’s vision. The latter sees absolutely no need for any real systemic changes, which is an extremely odd position, though one consistent with his lack of judgement.  

Sanders keeps talking about a ‘revolution’. Is there a ‘revolution’?

Not the type that Sanders is talking about.

Yes, Sanders not only has a large following, but a dedicated following. I’ve noted that many see him as virtually a prophet. 

But when anyone talks about a ‘revolution’, ask them which numbers they can point to that provide evidence that the United States is in the midst of some ‘revolution’. Or that there’s one on the horizon.

And I’m not naive enough to think that you necessarily need some fancy quantitative analysis to do so. I’d be happy to entertain convincing qualitative arguments as well. I just haven’t come across any.

Given that Mike Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren have no chance of winning the nomination, should they immediately drop out?

I’m actually happy that Bloomberg is in the race, even though he might not be by the time you read this.

I suspect that he’s stealing many more votes away from Biden than from Warren, so him sticking around ends up hurting Biden’s chances. 

As far as Warren is concerned, a lot of the Bernie folks are calling for her to drop out. Though if I were advising her, I’d say, ‘not so quick’.

Roughly speaking, I’d consider the four following factors:

a) Is there a ton of reliable evidence that most of her supporters would automatically go to Sanders if she dropped out?

b) Would that ton of supporters likely give Sanders a fighting chance for a plurality or a majority of delegates?

c) What sort of accommodation could be reached with Sanders for such formal support?

d) What type of power broker could Warren be in a convention, given various hypothetical scenarios?

Those four considerations in mind, I would be remiss if I didn’t repeat what I’ve mentioned on other occasions. Of the bunch, Warren is by far the most intellectual, best communicator, has the ideal temperament, and holds justice (including economic justice) close to her heart while being a more effective practitioner than Sanders.

So you can imagine my frustration with the way her campaign has been performing. But by no means are all her options gone. After all, this is politics at the end of the day…

Wednesday night update (Eastern Standard Time): The day after the above piece was written, Mike Bloomberg dropped out of the race and fully endorsed Joe Biden. Elizabeth Warren is reported to be considering what she should do next. Which may be an extremely tricky decision to make, for reasons noted in the original piece (above), and also complexities that go well beyond the scope of the commentary. 

Aly Kamadia is Editor-In-Chief of iDose. To read more articles by Kamadia, click here. To read the Editor’s message, click here.

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