Note: Updated 28 Feb 18:18 UTC — edited for clarity.
How Clinton Won South Carolina
Hillary Clinton successfully convinced black voters, community leaders and opinion-makers in SC that Bernie dislikes Obama, insults him, opposes him and will "undo" everything that Obama has done, including abolishing ACA and taking away everyone's health care. These are powerful arguments. As I mention above, Obama had cleaned Hillary’s clock in 2008, and he is very well respected and revered among blacks in SC. By portraying herself as the ally and the natural successor to Obama, she was able to capture that Obama contingent — which in this case meant almost every single black voter in the state.
But the real driver was not the positive portrayal of Hillary as the one to build on Obama’s legacy — it was Clinton’s successful portrayal of Sanders as one who wanted to ERASE the Obama legacy.
Faced with such a clear choice between someone who would be an extension of Obama and one that would end Obama, the black vote went overwhelmingly, steadfastly and enthusiastically for Clinton. This negative attack strategy explains how she could actually gain more of the black vote than Obama himself did in 2008.
Bernie SHOULD take a page from the Obama playbook
Bernie Sanders has nothing but praise for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. He has called it “brilliant” and “one of the greatest campaigns in history.” Well, maybe he should learn the biggest lesson from that campaign.
The Obama campaign won because they were willing to ATTACK. According to an article in The Telegraph, the Obama campaign developed a strategy to point out and attack the key weaknesses of Hillary Clinton’s persona, concentrating on her embodiment of the Establishment, her lack of truthfulness and consistency, and acknowledging the resulting personal loathing that the American people had for her.
In a memo issued by David Axelrod, Obama’s famed Campaign Manager, they captured the essence of the Hillary Clinton persona as follows:
“Change We Can Believe In", a key Obama campaign slogan, was meant as a slur against Mrs Clinton's personality, intended to highlight how she "couldn't be trusted or believed in when it comes to change", according to a memo seen by America's New Yorker magazine. "She's driven by political calculation not conviction, regularly backing away and shifting positions ... She embodies trench warfare vs Republicans, and is consumed with beating them rather than unifying the country and building consensus to get things done. She prides herself on working the system, not changing it," the October 2007 memo added.
I ask that you read the above paragraph again and think about whether anything has changed. “Trench warfare against Republicans” for example was embodied in her answer during the first debate in which she called the Republicans her “number one enemy.” And priding herself on working the system, not changing it? That is what this whole campaign is about. Hillary is pushing for incremental change within the system, and is calling Bernie’s proposals “pie in the sky” and “a fairy tale” whose goal of Single Payer Health Care “will never, ever happen.”
Indeed, Hillary has been on the attack for a long time already, and she is already pulling from her own playbook of 2007/8:
“You are not going to wave a magic wand to make special interests disappear" is what she said in Feb. 2008, mocking Obama’s message.
Now, in Jan. 2016, she says the same thing about Bernie: "I wish that we could elect a Democrat who could wave a magic wand and say, 'we shall do this and we shall do that.' That ain't the real world we're living in!”
If Hillary can start re-running her attacks from 2008, then Bernie should seriously consider running the same kind of attacks that the “brilliant” and “great” Obama campaign ran at the time.
Hillary is Shamelessly Copying Bernie’s Talking Points
Hillary is starting to sound more and more like Bernie Sanders every time she opens her mouth. She is shamelessly copying Bernie’s talking points and issues. Her victory speech in SC was unbelievable. She even tried to copy Bernie’s “1 minute fundraiser” by having everyone text a small donation on the spot. This is unbelievable. She is trying to make it seem that she is people powered like Bernie, when the reality is that she is funded by Wall Street and Corporate Billionaires!
Yet, when this was brought up in a recent TV interview, Bernie LAUGHED and joked that “we are looking into the copyright issues” surrounding her blatant mimicking. This is NOT funny. She needs to be challenged. She needs to be fought. She needs to be attacked. She cannot be allowed to co-opt Bernie’s talking points with impunity — especially since we all know that she does not believe in them.
Please, Bernie: Take Obama’s Lesson to Heart
I know you do not like to run negative ads, I know you have never run a negative campaign in your life, but we are talking about the Clintons. You yourself often talk about taking on “the most powerful political machine in history.” Well — this is the big leagues, Bernie. You need to attack Hillary if you want to win.
AND WE NEED YOU TO WIN.
Please put aside your personal point of pride regarding negative campaigning. Is it worth condemning the future of this country, the young people, the old, the weakest among us. Are they worth sacrificing on the altar of your personal pride? I don’t think so. Take the gloves off, Bernie. You often say that your campaign may not be as “brilliant” as Obama’s, but you can at least learn lessons from that great campaign — the most important lesson being HOW TO WIN AGAINST HILLARY CLINTON.
Please. Please.
Here is a GREAT video recap from The Jimmy Dore Show depicting what was being said BY DEMOCRATS (including Obama) about Hillary Clinton in 2008: