Now that Bernie Sanders has officially announced his campaign for President in 2016, I have noticed a reluctance to jump in all the way with him. Not so much here as on Facebook, where a lot of my friends are generally Liberal, but, you know, they don't see what the big deal is to stand behind him rather than Hillary.
Not to knock his run; if anything, I would rather he be the Democratic candidate. Hell, I've already donated more to him than I have to HRC ($5! Yay student loan debt!).
But, I think it is valuable to take a step back and reflect on why we choose to do and support certain things and people in the first place.
For example, have you thought about what the implication is if Sanders beats Clinton? That means we have replaced a much more well-known to the public, albeit less Progressive than our own specialized group's preference, candidate with one that is a much harder sell in the General election. Taken in this light, it might be fair to say that we are sacrificing an advantage in the General election on the chance that we want the best person, not just in 2016, but for the subsequent 4/8 years. Perhaps this seems like worthwhile gamble now, but what if it costs us the election, would that idealism still be worth it then?
Additionally, what of the talk that having Sanders in the Primary is mainly to make Clinton move to the Left, but she will still eventually be the candidate? If she is only moving to the Left to win the primaries, how realistic is it to expect her to maintain that lean all the way to November, and from then on? I think any effect this has on how much Clinton ends up moving to Left is likely to be transient at best. Though I'm sure there is also a sizable contingent who feel that any movement of Hillary to the Left is better than status quo, I don't personally find that a much more compelling argument.
In these regards, the reluctance to support a Sanders Presidential run seems rational. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it is a waste of anyone's time, but certainly, a large contingent of his supporters would feel a certain letdown if he loses. And that discouragement could potentially weigh down Democratic efforts for the rest of the campaign.
But then again, my point is not to discourage that run.
My point is, I think we should look at a Sanders Presidential run in a more nuanced way.
Why support Bernie Sanders for President?
Here is how I would approach it: by supporting Sanders for President, what we are doing is creating a focal point for the continued movement to push the country to the Left.
Some of you may take issue with whether or not the country is being pushed to the Left, or simply being framed more realistically as collectively Liberal than it is normally portrayed. The point though, is that our goals around the country are best served by increasing the amount of coverage for Liberal talking points and agendas.
By having Sanders and Clinton compete with who has the best Liberal message, it becomes less important whether or not one candidate better epitomizes that message or not. The fact is, a wider audience of Americans will be getting twice as much exposure to Liberal values and rhetoric than they might otherwise receive.
By focusing more attention on Liberal rhetoric, it then forces other ideologues who might otherwise sweep it under the rug, to have to face the scrutiny of such policies.
Who cares about convincing Clinton how important it is to talk about unions, the minimum wage, and income inequality, if we can convince a larger population of Americans that these are things we should be talking about and possibly even changing?
Once the public gets on board, then it's not just a matter of two or three Democratic candidates, but then the Republican candidates are forced to speak on the issues - possibly opening more opportunities for the things that Republicans hate to happen: Republicans who have to open their mouths.
And then, these Liberal and Progressive agendas become something that get brought up in elections further down the ticket. When we get the public engaged on these issues, they start to bring them up more at other levels. So it becomes less about the Presidency, and more and more about, what do these Senate candidates say, what do these Representatives say, what about these Governors and state legislators?
Of course, the mainstream media would rather not have to focus on issues like this. That's why they prefer coverage in the form of race-horse and gotcha journalism. But this is where campaigns like Bernie Sanders's are at their most valuable. They force the media to cover these topics that might otherwise get overlooked. Why? Because if not, it almost becomes too obvious that they are avoiding something so glaringly obvious. Oh, Hillary has this opponent, what makes him different, what does he bring to the table, and hey, why is nobody talking about this? Then, once people start hearing about these ideas that they have been surreptitiously deprived of for so long, perhaps they will want to hear more and more. And, you know, perhaps this won't stop or slow the media from forcing McCains and McCarthys and McConnells down our gullets every Sunday, but once people get even a small taste of what Sanders brings to the table, perhaps they will crave more.
So, what do we do?
If someone asks, Why Sanders? or something along that line, we don't just focus on him as an individual, or how he differs from Hillary, or even from the Republican Party. Let's talk about the issues he thinks are important, let's talk about how he thinks we should address those issues, and more importantly, let's find out what issues that person thinks are important. Because chances are, with a guy like Bernie Sanders, we can think of something he has talked about that might hit close to home with whomever we are talking to, whether they are some hardcore Liberal, some hardcore Conservative, or just someone who thinks more plainly about what is personal to them.
Or, maybe this is just my speculation.
Maybe this does not seem like the most optimal use of our resources. Maybe there is a better way to frame Clinton vs. Sanders that better fits your state of mind. Maybe I am just spouting idealistic bullshit, as far as you are concerned.
But, I think as far as utility is concerned - utility to the Democratic Party; utility to the democratic process; utility to the people - it is important to treat events such as these as rallying points in the continued process of moving the country to the Left. It doesn't start with just one race, but one race can be a valuable focal point on which to center our goals and values.
If we just look at a Sanders Presidential run in terms of how it effects the final outcome just of that race, or how it affects Clinton's campaign, it's hard to make sense of the value in that.
However, if we take a more holistic approach to supporting a Sanders Presidential campaign, it serves to better galvanize a national effort to move to the Left. It is not about moving any one person to the Left, it is not about winning any one election. It is about reclaiming the public national stage for Progressive values and policies, and their champions, once again.
Taken in this frame, whether Sanders wins or loses, there is no real sense of defeat. After all, it still served a lot of general benefits for the Democratic Party and Liberal ideology as a whole.
Who can't help but get behind a movement like that?