Laura Ingraham: Biden is only helping Bernie if he stays in race after New Hampshire flop
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Fox News' Laura Ingraham said Tuesday that former Vice President Joe Biden's decision to continue campaigning despite underwhelming performances in the first two Democratic nominating contests is hurting his competitors in the so-called "moderate" lane of the race.
The "Ingraham Angle" host said the center-left candidate to take on Bernie Sanders in the final battle for the Democratic nomination will be one of Pete Buttigieg, Michael Bloomberg or Amy Klobuchar.
"This is a come to Jesus moment for the Democrats: At this point with Biden below 10 [percentage] points [in New Hampshire], his staying in the primary past tonight is doing one thing -- it's helping Bernie Sanders," she said.
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BERNIE SANDERS PROJECTED WINNER OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY
"The Democrats created this monster of radicalism by tolerating for a long time now this anti-free market, antibusiness, anti-law enforcement, anti-borders, and some people think anti-American strain in some quarters of their party," she added before asking aloud whether Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., or former President Obama should call on the 77-year-old Biden to bow out of the contest.
Ingraham said that the state of the Democratic race reminded her of the 2016 Republican primary, in which the "establishment" candidate -- former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush -- stayed in the race for a long time despite underwhelming performances.
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Instead, Trump -- the non-establishment candidate similar to Sanders -- became stronger and stronger ahead of the GOP convention.
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"And just like Biden is now, Jeb was the establishment. He had tons of money but once he started getting into trouble, what happened? He began attacking not Donald Trump so much, but Marco Rubio, the only other threat among the then-establishment candidates," she said.
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Of Bloomberg, Buttigieg and Klobuchar, Ingraham said Democratic moderates should coalesce behind one of the three and unite against Sanders in order to present a viable candidate to matchup against Trump.
"If I had to pick someone who would perhaps have appeal beyond just New England and a few college towns, it would be Amy Klobuchar: At least she is a senator, and she doesn't have the Wall Street baggage that is toxic to the AOC-plus-three crowd that, of course, Michael Bloomberg does have," she said.
"If they are going to beat Bernie Sanders, who has been a phenomenal retail politician, they need to stand united tonight behind one moderate candidate before Super Tuesday."