New Hampshire and the Art of the Possible

“It’s not that we don’t have these aspirational goals,” Neila Brownstein told The Dispatch in Londonderry, alluding to Medicare-for-All and tuition-free college. “These things, they’re great. But [Amy Klobuchar] realizes and recognizes there are steps to achieve those, and that this Bernie and Elizabeth approach of day one—boom, it’s there—it’s not going to fly. It’s not going to get through Congress.”

Tens of thousands of voters like Neila will cast a ballot today in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, the results of which (assuming they are reported in a timely manner) will shape the course of the Democratic race. And although Sanders holds nearly an eight-point lead in polling averages, Brownstein is far from alone in her cautious and practical approach.

“A criteria for me is somebody who could speak to independents,” Helen Honorow said at a Rotary Club meeting in Nashua. “Yes, you need to speak to Democrats. But you need to speak to independents, you need to speak to moderate Republicans who want to preserve what we have in our country.”

“In 2016 I was all for Bernie, and still think the world of him,” Liz Richter disclosed at a Pete Buttigieg rally on Sunday night. “But I don’t think somebody as progressive as Bernie or Elizabeth will appeal to enough percentage of the country.”