It was with admittedly smug satisfaction and schadenfreude that I watched a dim red sun, clearly past its zenith setting on another failed Bernard Sanders presidential campaign.
Driving home tonight (3/11/2020) I happened to hear Naomi Klein complain on a radio show about a display of “ruthless unity” by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and Pete Buttigieg. It struck me, not because she was saying something stupid as she often does that, but that her complaint was the precise reason Bernard was always going to fail. On a different radio show last Sunday I heard host Rickey Hendon (both shows I heard on WCPT 820, Chicago’s progressive talk station) say that politics is the art of inclusion and compromise. Mr. Sanders’ lack of legislative accomplishments is the best example of his eschewing this art. He has enacted just 7 bills out the 379 he has introduced since 1991.
Bernard’s reputation has always been that of a cantankerous codger who isn’t particularly well liked by the people he works with. Secretary Clinton pointed that out when asked a few months ago and she is by no means the first or most recent Democrat to point this out. I should mention, that I do believe there is a place for criticisms without action. However, that place should not be Congress, and certainly not the White House.
As it happens, this isn’t a very good campaigning strategy either. What Mr. Sanders refused to learn after his blow out loss in the 2016 primary was that participating in a political party and building something within it matters. It is a galling insult that one of the first public events Mr. Sanders participated in after the 2016 election was a Democratic “Unity Tour” with Tom Perez where he informed the crowd that he was not a Democrat. The insult persisted in the rise of the Justice Democrats, DSA, and Our Revolution popping up out of the astro turf to begin their insurgency. The following quote from Chapo Trap House pseudo intellectual mouthpiece Will Menaker sums it up well, “However, to the pragmatists out there and the people who don’t like purity in politics, yes, let’s come together. But get this through your fucking head: You must bend the knee to us. Not the other way around. You have been proven as failures, and your entire worldview has been discredited. You bend the knee to us…”
This was a very curious position to take after their preferred candidate lost a primary by 13%, but no one would accuse any of this ilk of being wise.
The 2018 midterms were a win for Democrats. But decidedly not a win for the Justice Democrats/DSA. Despite the obsequious coverage given to Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Justice Democrats/DSA did not flip a single Republican district to a Democratic district. They simply primaried incumbent Democrats in very safe blue areas. Once in Congress, they instigated rumblings about not supporting Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. It is tempting to think that this represented a real schism within the party, and to be sure no shortage of ink was spilled pushing this narrative. This would be an inaccurate conclusion. I can think of no greater example of this than the July 2019 condemnation of BDS resolution vote. BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) of Israel is of strong interest to me as it is a grotesquely anti-Semitic movement that should be rejected out of hand. I was pleased to see that despite the efforts of Mmes. Tlaib, Omar and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez the Democratically controlled House overwhelmingly voted to condemn BDS. Also, of note is that the unintentionally funny mustachioed failed Chicago mayoral candidate, Jesus Garcia voted with his comrades; again in failure.
Mr. Sanders had an extremely rare opportunity in front of him after 2016. Despite being drubbed in the primary, something of his message seemed to resonate with a segment of voters. (Though the exit polling in the 2020 primary would suggest that it may have been that a bunch of people just really hated Secretary Clinton.) Be that as it may, there was at least the beginning of a chance to become a formidable force within the party. A chance to galvanize a coalition, a very real door was open to bring about the sort of change he campaigned on. Mr. Sanders looked at that open door, slammed it shut, and set it on fire.
It also cannot be said that a lack of funding was impeding him this time. Contrary to popular mythology, he does take Super PAC and PAC money in addition to a massive and impressive haul from individual contributions. In fact, the current front runner in the primary, Vice President Joe Biden was vastly behind most of his competitors at the beginning of the race. This should be good news for anyone concerned about money in politics; as money still cannot buy elections.
This time around Mr. Sanders is losing for the same reason he lost last time: not enough people vote for him. His strategy of winning the “youth” vote was always doomed to fail. There is no fickler group of voters than young voters. They historically vote in low numbers in general elections and even lower numbers in primaries. Plus, youth voters don’t stay youth voters for very long whereas middle aged and seniors stay middle aged and then seniors for many election cycles to come. His failure to reach out to black voters is widely documented elsewhere. What I can speak to is his awful showing with the Jewish community. He hired and fired a Jewish outreach coordinator in 1 day in 2016. In classic fashion, he learned nothing from this. Bernard went on to hire noted anti-Semite Linda Sarsour again. This time he also hired Amer Zahr, a comedian who has called Israel the “ISIS” of American Jews. The emetic screeching of JVP and INN were naturally to the benefit of Mr. Sanders but not indicative of the Jewish community at large.
There are primary contests left to be had. Much like 2016 Mr. Sanders should drop out now to focus on the final goal of unseating Trump. Much like 2016, I am sure he won’t leave the race expeditiously or gracefully. We must unite as a party to bury his campaign at the ballot box. Let us bring more of the “ruthless unity” Naomi Klein lamented. Get out and vote for Joe Biden. Then, once Bernard comes to his senses and retires to one of his houses, let us mend fences with his voters.
