As we near the end of the primary season Secretary Clinton to date has won 57.5% of the Democratic Primary popular vote. Let that sink in, 57.5% of the vote. In raw numbers she leads by 3,166,000 votes. And yet there are people who still believe there is a pathway to the nomination for Senator Sanders. I have no desire to debate that. I cite these numbers for another reason. There are people online, and on television, who are advocating that Secretary Clinton needs to move further left so as to mollify them, and earn their vote.
I will be the first to admit that Senator Sanders brought up issues that otherwise may not have had the prominence had he not broached them such as trade, and Social Security. Conversely, the same can be said of Secretary Clinton with issues such of epidemic of gun violence in America which Secretary Clinton speaks about often.
The Democratic Party had two candidates running to give party voters a choice. And each candidate was given ample opportunity to speak to the primary voters to help them to arrive at a decision. Now that the choice is clear, I cannot see how anyone can in good faith makes the argument that the Democratic Party needs to remake itself more in the image of the candidate that they didn't choose over of the candidate they overwhelmingly supported.
Most of the these arguments come from the most zealous supporters of Senator Sanders. I cannot disagree with the assessment of Joy Reid as to what defines a zealot . I know that there are those who believe the future of the Party lies in Democratic Socialism. Doubtful. Certainly not in the near term. The larger issue I see are those who act as if they write and speak for a vast swath of the Democratic electorate. They do not. They preen, pontificate, and put forth conditions for their vote being given. Such demands need not be given any weight, or consideration.
Those making such demands do not have a seat at the table. Nor do they have any currency to influence what takes place when the primaries end. The only one with a chip in the game is Senator Sanders. He earned his. How? Let Theodore Roosevelt, in this excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic," explain that.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Senator Sanders entered into the arena. He will, at a time of his choosing, sit down with Secretary Clinton and discuss the level of support he will tender going forward. He will represent himself, and his supporters. Anyone who wants to exercise whatever perceived influence they have should contact the Sanders campaign to proffer advice, or to air their concerns. If they don’t that is on them. If you are unhappy with what eventually comes out of the end of these conversations that is on whomever you supported. If Senator Sanders win large concessions good for him. If he fails then your complaint is with him, and him alone. Should Secretary Clinton compromise more than her supporters feel she should, that’s on her, not on Senator Sanders. Either way, the two candidate during these negotiations will take in account the interests of their supporters, themselves, and ultimately the party.
There continues to be a small minority of the supporters who vow not to support the nominee even if Senator Sanders endorses Secretary Clinton. Fine they control their vote, and can use it how they see fit. However one of Senator Sanders surrogates, former Clinton Administration Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, made a statement on his Facebook Page explaining why people who voted for Senator Sanders should vote for Secretary Clinton in the general election. Reich stated, in part,
2. If Bernie doesn’t win the nomination, you have to decide for yourself how active you’ll be in supporting Hillary Clinton. If Trump is the Republican nominee, my personal view is Hillary’s election to the presidency is absolutely essential to the future of this nation and the world
There is an air of vindictiveness towards members of congress who didn’t support Senator Sanders that is extremely troubling too. A small contingent is actively advocating that Senators such as Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, both of whom are true progressives, be replaced because they “are as much establishment as Secretary Clinton is.” The folks calling for retribution should enter the arena and run. Yes run. Put yourselves, and your ideas, out there as candidates. If your message is widely supported you will will be successful. But if you want to change the party, get involved, run, and let your friends and neighbors decide whether your message has value because in the end elections have consequences. One of the consequences of winning is you get to set the agenda.
A look at the current state of a hypothetical matchup between the two leading candidate looks much like what we might expect at this stage of the game given the overall negative view of the GOP held by a majority of Americans.Going forward with all the underlying dynamics favoring the Democratic nominee, no one should be advocating a shift further to the left by the nominee, The party can ill afford alienating the very voters that are needed to insure the next president has an overwhelming mandate.The party needs the Democratic nominee positioned to help elect more liberal members of the House and Senate thus reducing GOP numbers and influence.