If I woke up as queen of the universe or discovered a magic wand lying by the roadside, here is how I would have Bernie finish his primary campaign.
- Every rally would include a voter registration component. At some point he or his host would say, “Everybody who is registered to vote, raise your hand!” Then they would say, “Great! Everyone who is registered or can’t register, text some friends and ask them if they are. Everyone who isn’t, get online and register now. We’ll be passing around paper forms for folks who can’t get online.” Obama did this at his rallies in Iowa — it was a great way to give people something worthwhile to do while they waited for him to arrive. In 2008, the student advising season overlapped the election season and I would ask students if they were registered (I never told them whom to vote for!) One shy Asian student said, “I am not a citizen.” So I asked him, “ Do you have friends who are? Text them!” He brightened up mightily and said he would.
- Every rally would include one to three (0r more!) local progressive Democrats (local to the city, county or state). In some places, “progressive” might only mean “local Democrat willing to challenge an incumbent Republican who has gone unopposed for eight years.” In other places there will be absolute peaches of progressives who can benefit from the exposure. This would have two benefits: the local Democrats will get the boost from the exposure, and the attendees will be educated to the need for progressives at every level. (some will already know it, but it can never be repeated too much) If Bernie is willing to split the funds raised locally with the candidates, even better.
- When he talks about money in politics, include concrete steps for getting it out of politics. I won’t try to dictate what steps he thinks are best, but some of the obvious ones are overturning Citizens United, public financing for campaigns, restoring the fairness doctrine and more. I don’t even care about how easily or soon the steps could be taken; it’s important for the people at the rally to see that even fundamental goals need to broken down into steps that can be imagined.
I haven’t been to a Sanders (or a Clinton) rally so perhaps he is already doing all of these. If folks have suggestions to add to the list, please make them in the comments and I can add to it.
Obligatory disclosure: I was an O’Malley precinct captain and I’m voting blue no matter who.