First the Meh.
It’s easy for me to admit...I dislike Sen. Bernie Sanders based on several factors, but the primary one is the most obvious: I disagree with many of his policy stances. It’s not because I’m an evil war mongering Wall Street loving oligarchical corporate shill. It’s because I don’t think — when you take his ideas separate from his rhetoric — that they’re the best, or even a good, blueprint for running the economy. My support for Clinton isn’t based on any kind of tribalism. I supported Brown in 1992, Clinton in 1996, I was a spiritual supporter of Nader in 2000, voted Bradley in the primary, and Gore in the GE, a Dean supporter in 2004 though I pulled the lever for Kerry in the GE, and then Obama twice. I don’t support “liberal” or “progressive” polices because they’re our brand — I support them when they’re RIGHT. And for me, when I draw up the laundry list — Sanders’ policy platform just doesn’t work for me. I’ve already voted for Clinton and Van Hollen in Maryland early voting, so I’m not a potential voter to be swayed. It’s not my purpose here to litigate Sanders’ merits or the value of his policy stances — I’ve made up my mind, I’ve cast my vote, and I am now out of the political gene pool for this primary. And I suspect that my vote isn’t too different from those of my friends and neighbors here in Montgomery County.
That’s the reason I dislike Sanders. Policy. But there’s a political reason I love the guy.
Now Feel the Bern.
Nobody in the Clinton camp wanted a coronation. I know people like to say that Team Clinton talks about “inevitability” all the time — but they don’t. And for this race that was never going to be a part of their serious strategy. The Democrats have enjoyed eight solid years in the White House. As with all parties in power, that dampens enthusiasm in favor of Teh New Hotness. People like novelty and change for its own sake, even when it ain’t that good for them.
So we began this cycle with an enthusiasm gap. The GOP Shit Circus was already in train, promising to swamp the TeeVee in wall-to-wall Trump for a year. A Clinton-only race on the Donkey side was a sure bet for a snooze fest. We needed a challenger. We needed a challenger who could build enthusiasm among people who weren’t already enthusiastic about Clinton. But we also needed a challenger who probably couldn’t ACTUALLY win the nomination.
Marty was a nice try — but he really is Clinton-lite and his tenure as my governor and as Baltimore’s mayor frankly sucked. Nobody cared to the tune of electing a Republican to succeed him over his Loot Gov in this solid blue state. Warren would have been great or Biden — but they’d have a serious shot at winning. Maybe a little TOO great.
And what’d we’d have on our hands would be a hostile party blood bath that left all fighters broke and hobbled going into the GE. Hell, I love Clinton, but it’d be hard for me not to bubble-in for Warren because, again: policy. But in the end, thanks to organizing power and demographic support she’d probably win anyway — though not cleanly or cheaply.
And along came Bernie. Literally tailor made for the job. He’s not even a Democrat, so no intraparty war. If I were into the CT I might suggest that he was encouraged by Clinton to run. Hell, if I were into the CT I might suggest that both he AND Trump were encouraged by Clinton to run. Bernie has consistently and repeatedly outspent Clinton only to, in the end, lose the biggest prizes. So Clinton will likely win — and have done so on the cheap.
Bernie has done what we needed. He’s put fire into the Democratic race. He’s spent his money building enthusiasm on our behalf. And he has PROVEN that the Democratic Party is capable of having a conversation with itself about its positions — chiefly the big issues of the day: wealth equality, social equity, and our role in the world. The GOP is trying to out Big Rich and Big Racist each other, while we’re actually dishing the nuts and bolts of how to regulate industry and get actual Americans paid. We wanted a conversation, not a coronation, and that’s what we got.
Why is that important? Power.
The Power Agenda
A few years back Pew did a broad study that indicated that Americans adopt their political ideology when they’re young. If you grew up loving IKE, somehow you’re going to still be loving the GOP in 2016 even though they’re as much like IKE as bottle of goat urine is to a chocolate sundae. True, some of us are weirdos and didn’t grow up loving IKE, or in my case Reagan, but there’s a lot of political data that shows that imprinting in your youth is a primary indicator of political identity throughout your life. If you start out a Lefty you’re gonna stay a Lefty, statistically speaking.
So even if “The Youths of Today” didn’t show up to actually vote for Bernie, just the fact they like them some Bernie is a big help to the Democratic Party in the long run. All of us know at least one Nader voter who is hard in the paint for Clinton this year. I know about ten.
The goal of politics is to obtain and wield power in order to enact policy. The goal of an ideological movement is to build converts to the ideology. Right now we have to do both. The GOP has a serious age problem and it isn’t getting any better. The Democrats have a demographic advantage across the board but it would only take about a 3% swing within our demographic coalition to flip the Presidency red. As more conservative voters age and move to their great reward, it’s important that we not only create more Donkeys, but that we work on moving the entire country TO THE LEFT. And that includes “conservative” voters. America is becoming more liberal despite the propaganda. In 30 years what it means to be a conservative won’t mean the same thing it means today — ideas like gay marriage and universal healthcare will be commonplace on both sides of the aisle and no one will be considering opposing them.
Sanders being in this race will continue to insert not only the efficacy of the Democratic Party but the relevance of liberal ideology into America’s Overton Window. A loss for Sanders himself is an ultimate win for Democrats and liberals in the long term.
And, I can say with confidence, it is a win for Clinton and her partisans like me. No, Bernie did not create a youth revolution. But he IS bringing new voters into this race — millions of Americans will have cast their first ever ballot for Bernie Sanders. And data shows that 75% or more of those will cast their second ever ballot for Hillary Clinton in November. And their 30th ballot for a Democrat in 2050.
