As with most of my fellow-Democrats, I am concerned above all in defeating Donald Trump. I don’t think the policy differences between those in serious contention are nearly as vast or as significant as the differences between re-electing Trump and electing anyone else.
But I do have a secondary worry: where does the Democratic party go if we run a candidate like Joe Biden and then lose? More specifically, what happens to the generation that seems to be solidly and enthusiastically in Bernie Sanders’ camp?
My kids are in their 20s and are avid Bernie supporters. They believe that the Democratic party must be changed. They believe that the Democratic party conspired against Bernie in 2016. They think that the Democrats are largely beholden to big business and lack courage. They are positive that Bernie is more electable than Biden — or any so-called “moderate.” They believe that the two-party system itself is seriously flawed. If Biden is the nominee, and Trump is re-elected, they will likely blame the Democratic party establishment and may well look elsewhere in the future.
To put it differently, I think that if Biden is our candidate and he loses to Trump, my kids will feel that their cynicism about the Democratic party would have been wholly justified. And when they tell me that Bernie would have been more electable, I will have no convincing answer.
Now I am not suggesting that I agree with my kids about all of the above. (And for the record — I remain an Elizabeth Warren supporter). But I do wonder where their generation will look in the future if the Democrats turn away from Bernie — and everything he represents to them — and Trump is re-elected.
Maybe this is not the most important consideration, but perhaps we should spend some time considering where the Democratic party goes in the event that Trump defeats us again.
UPDATE:
Many of you have made quite reasonable suggestions about reasonable responses to my kids in the scenario I mentioned. But to be clear: I’m not really saying that reasonable replies don’t exist, despite the title of this diary. Nor am I saying that my kids would be justified in turning away from the Democrats. What I really mean is that I believe there is a genuine risk the party faces by rejecting the candidate so clearly favored by the younger generation.
And I don’t think the same type of risk arises if Bernie is the candidate, but loses to Trump. For in that scenario, the young voters may well feel an allegiance to the Democratic party.
To put it somewhat differently: it seems to me that there is a particular long-term value for a party in developing a young voter base, and also a particular long-term risk for alienating a young voter base. And I think that’s worth acknowleding.