Bernie Sanders is threatening America, not just the Democratic Party, with the Presidency of Donald Trump. I've worked in politics and government for the entire length of the Obama administration now. Before that, I worked on the 2008 campaign. I feel the need to explain how conventions work, and their affect on the fall election, to Senator Sanders and his supporters.
The actions of Senator Sanders over the past two weeks have been the actions of a gadfly who suddenly finds himself influential. It began with his appointment of Cornel West, a true idiot, who among other things has called President Obama "a Republican in blackface," to the platform committee. newrepublic.com/...
In this election, Dr. West has publicly professed his love of Donald Trump and clearly stated that he isn't even a Member of the Democratic Party:
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Yet despite this, Senator Sanders appointed Dr. West to the committee which will write the platform of a party Dr. West doesn't support.
Senator Sanders seems to have a convention--as best as I can tell he has never attended a Democratic Convention in his 25 years as a Member of Congress--confused with a real Legislative body. As a person who is a candidate for national delegate (I am also a delegate to the State convention in my state) I know that a national Convention isn't a real legislative body. Because a Donald Trump Presidency truly scares me, on the faint chance somebody will print this and give it to Senator Sanders, I am going to explain how modern conventions work.
I imagine Bernie last paid attention to Democratic Conventions in 1968, when chaos reigned in Chicago and a candidate who had not run in the primary was nominated by party insiders. The result was the national disaster called President Richard Nixon. After the 1968 Convention, the Democratic Party adopted rules that shifted the responsibility for making the nomination from party machines to voters in Primaries and caucuses. In every election since, the party has nominated the candidate with the most votes in the primary. It will do so again this year when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is nominated by the Convention.
In the 1980s, the Democratic Party instituted something called super delegates. Bernie Sanders makes overblown assertions about these delegates every day. Before super delegates, Members of Congress and Governors had to spend time running for delegate at Congressional District and State Conventions. So the party decided to let all sitting Members of Congress, all sitting Governors, and all members of the Democratic Committee plus Chairs and Vice Chairs of State Parties be automatic delegates to the national convention. In the 30 years since their adoption, these so called superdelegates have never overrode the will of the people and they probably never will.
As a candidate for national delegate at my state convention this year, I am happy there are super delegates. I assume the Democratic Governor of my state would handily beat me if we were both running for delegate. Super delegates aren't, as Senator Sanders apparently thinks, an exclusionary tool meant to keep loyal party activists like me from participating in the Convention. Instead, they are a tool that allows the competition for 67% of the delegate slots to be among loyal party activists like me. They're inclusionary and not exclusionary.
Once people like me get elected to delegate to a National Convention, we get to spend time with fellow party activists from around the country. Here is what Conventions are about: presenting a unified message to the public about what a party stands for and facilitating networking between party activists, elected officials, and political staff that will help the party win the election. Conventions help grow the party, but more importantly they give political parties four days to frame the election on their terms. This framing can affect press coverage for the rest of the campaign.
In that way, bad conventions can assure a party of a loss. There have been examples of this in the not too distant past.
In 1988, Jesse Jackson demanded the Vice Presidency, Michael Dukakis picked Lloyd Bentsen instead, but couldn't even have a vote on his selection. The result was President George HW Bush.
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On the Republican side, in 1992 Pat Buchanan declared a war on American Culture. That epic disaster led to the defeat of the Republicans that fall. en.m.wikipedia.org/...
In 2012, Clint Eastwood spent time talking to an empty chair and Ron Paul declined an invitation to speak because he did not fully endorse his Party's nominee. The result was President Obama's resounding reelection that fall. en.m.wikipedia.org/...
If Bernie Sanders carries out his threat to file minority reports on all Convention actions because he really doesn't like former Congressman Frank, he will be assuring the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency. A Democratic Convention where time gets spent with nobodies like me debating arcane motions to amend the rules, accept a minority report on a platform, and consider resolutions is a Convention that gets reported like this by the pro-Trump media: "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been unable to unite the Democratic Party. The chaotic spectacle of platform fights, Cornel West leading a walk out of Sanders supporters at the Convention and the inability to deliver a unified message to the country because the party is busy yelling at each other over section 27b of the Party's platform raise serious concerns about Mrs. Clinton's ability to govern. Surprisingly, the Republicans had a peaceful and effective Convention in Cleveland, which showed Donald Trump's ability to govern and gave him a lead in the polls he has yet to relinquish."
Bernie Sanders is a United States Senator. It is hard to get elected to the Senate, even in a small State like Vermont. Bernie Sanders is also a smart guy who knows this will be the result of continuing the pathetic tantrum he has been on of late in Philadelphia. Sadly, I think he may be ok with that.
I no longer believe that Bernie Sanders will do everything he can to defeat Donald Trump in November because he is showing no signs of doing the one thing he should do--and the one thing Hillary Clinton did in 2008 when she was in a similar situation--be a good soldier for the party.
I believe Bernie Sanders now wants Donald Trump to be elected President. I believe it is apparent that, in his mind, he can come back in four years, win the nomination and "easily defeat Donald Trump."
My problem with that is what will happen in the intervening four years. The cancer and HIV patients who will lose their health insurance when Trump repeals Obamacare might not live to the next election without their medicine. The families who will be ripped apart by Donald Trump's deportation campaign. And the service members who will lose their lives in the numerous dumb wars President Trump is likely to start during his daily temper tantrums.
This is a high price to pay to appease the ego of an unremarkable US Senator. And Senator Sanders' actions in July will not be forgotten by Democratic Party activists like me. If he prevents us from making our case as to why we must build upon the remarkable progress made under President Obama with the remarkable talents, and detailed plans, of Secretary Clinton, we will oppose him at every chance in the years to come.
Perhaps we'd be able to convince former Vermont Governor Howard Dean to run for the Senate in 2018. And if Senator Sanders were to run again in 2020, the party would most assuredly not nominate him. The front runners would be whomever Hillary Clinton selects for Vice President and (if she isn't Hillary's pick for Vice President) Elizabeth Warren. The crowds will never come back for Senator Sanders, and he will never be a serious contender for the Presidency again, even if he should run again in four years.
Senator Sanders, you gave it a good run. You brought the important issue of economic justice into the main stream. It is an admirable legacy. The question for you now is whether you want the history books to have a photo of you standing by President Hillary Clinton when she signs a minimum wage increase into law; or do you want to have an entire chapter in the history books devoted to how your political ineptitude aided in the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency and hurt millions of Americans--the millions of Americans that you supposedly devoted your campaign to. It's your choice, Senator. But I hope you make the right decision--for the sake of the country we both love.