Like most Sanders supporters, I woke up this morning in a foul mood. I think we all see the writing on the wall now, and although I’ll continue to support Bernie for as long as he campaigns, what was once a long shot has now become a near impossibility.
It took me until noon today, and several cups of really strong coffee, to be able to write that first paragraph, but there it is. [See brackets below if you are a Bernie supporter.]
So now let’s look ahead. This is a pivotal moment for Hillary Clinton. I believe her campaign was caught off guard by the success of Bernie’s message. They believed that she could coast through the primary without really staking out ambitious policy positions and an overarching vision until she was up against a Republican opponent. As a consequence, she became the candidate of no. Free college? No, not feasible. Universal healthcare? No, politically impossible. The Bernie campaign embraced big ideas and optimism, and in politics, big ideas and optimism is always more popular than “no.”
BUT! We now have an inflection point in the 2016 campaign. She can push the reset button. Refocus her message. And, I know just the person who can help. BERNIE! Bernie is not a natural political campaigner. His stump speech is energetic, but repetitive. He really doesn’t have too many moments of unscripted brilliance (except for the bird… man that was amazing). He appealed to voters because of his passion, integrity, and vision. He allowed you to imagine a world where your kid could attend a nice public school without 50K in debt. He allowed you to imagine a world where we no longer mine fossil fuels. He allowed you to imagine a world where you could make a living wage while working 40 hours a week. He inspired you to imagine a better world.
Hillary Clinton isn’t a natural campaigner either. She rarely has unscripted moments of brilliance. And, I think, unfairly, many Bernie supporters will say she doesn’t have a vision. I don’t believe that’s true. It’s just that she has been socialized into a political world with narrow horizons. The right has swung so far to the right that the center has begun to resemble Bob Dole (for a bit of a laugh, check out his archived 1996 website). However, Democrats no longer need to chase Republicans down the rabbit hole of crazy to win national elections. They can proudly stand on the left and win votes, even on issues like raising taxes to pay for social spending programs.
So, now’s the time for Hillary to stake out a teleology. What purpose does her campaign serve? We’re not going the route of democratic socialism, so where are we heading? This question matters immensely for anyone under the age of 40 because empirical evidence is beginning to mount that we’re not heading anywhere nice. Climate change is progressing far faster than anticipated. Wage growth is anemic even as rents and housing prices continue to rise. Voices of hate, racism, and xenophobia are growing stronger.
When I was deciding who to vote for, this is the question that really got me thinking. If Hillary becomes president, will we just spend the next eight years talking about tax credits, job retraining, the cost of premiums in our health insurance exchanges, reducing student loan interest rates, and other modest policy proposals? Or, will we stake out a broader vision for the country that will make Americans confident we can navigate the next century?
Bernie invites you to dream with him about a better future. I think Hillary can do the same, and I think she could do it by taking one or two major policy positions, such as climate change or fighting systemic racism in our criminal justice system, and lay out some bold, ambitious goals. Take climate change for instance. She should embrace the “leave it in the ground” movement and start talking about what a carbon-neutral US economy will look like in 20 years. Take a bold and ambitious stand in favor of replacing natural gas with solar and wind power within 15 years, just like we’ve begun replacing coal. And, talk about it on the campaign trail during the general election, don’t just let it languish on your website.
In other words, borrow some policies from Bernie for the general election. He won’t mind. I promise. Make your donors a bit nervous. You may even find that it’s pretty easy to get those pesky millennials to turn out to vote for you. Remember, they didn’t grow up hearing about Marc Rich, Monica Lewinsky, or Vernon Jordan (thank God). They aren’t voting against you because they believe RW talking points. They are voting for Bernie because he campaigns for big changes that need to happen as fast as possible.
[For Bernie Supporters: I saw the “fuck him” comment mid-day and almost deleted this entire diary. It took a large amount of emotional self-restraint to keep writing. We all know who is running the positive, inspiring campaign this election cycle. I’ve never gotten greater joy from a political campaign in my life. So, fuck that Clinton campaign hack.]