Just saw a new New Yorker piece with Barney Frank still blaming Bernie . Shouldn ' t have attacked her for being in bed with Wall Street , says Barney Frank from his bed on Wall Street . c o m m e n t b a r n e y f r a n k l o o k s f o r t hebrightsideoftrumpswinMy sense is that Bernie almost won in 2016 because he took the establishment by surprise . Since Bernie is not a team player , read corrupt , look for the Democratic party to try to coopt portions of his message while trying to marginalize and discredit Bernie at every turn . Their plan is to use him as left cover for their continued corruption , and as we get closer to 2020 look for a massive barrage of attacks , fake stories , smears , age concerns , etc . They have 4 years to plan how to take him out . I predict the dirty tricks will be just as bad as this year , but they ' ll try to take him down before the primaries even start . They know he ' ll fill stadiums on day one if he gets a chance . The other danger is from wellmeaning progressives who are already floating alternatives like Sherrod Brown , Elizabeth Warren , Al Franken , etc . , which 1 weakens Bernie ' s position as the undisputed leader of the opposition to Trump , and 2 plays right into the Dem establishment ' s hands of trying to coopt Bernie ' s movement with one of their own willing to play ball with the corruption .