I’m an avid Sanders supporter so it’s not surprising that I find Hilary’s latest smear against Sanders disappointing. She says that nobody likes Bernie (in DC), but if you look at what his campaign is built on (a strongly anti establishment message) this does nothing but give Bernie more appeal to his base. People that support Bernie are drawn towards him because he is saying the things we wish that our other representatives would say. He is talking about issues that we can personally relate to. Almost every US citizen that has health issues, could write you a thesis on the way it effects them financially. You probably know someone yourself. When Hilary bashes Bernie she is bashing the millions of Americans who have donated and believe in his campaign’s message. The worse thing to do to unify the party is to make divisive comments like she did. What good did it accomplish? As far as what Bernie has accomplished, he has accomplished as much as someone can who has been opposed as often as he has. It’s no secret that Bernie isn’t a DC favorite, I don’t think that is an issue at all for Bernie and his chances of winning the presidency. Two time Obama voters in the rust belt jumped to Trump because they were hearing a candidate promising to save their jobs while Clinton was simultaneously supporting a new trade deal that looked to outsource more of their jobs. Bernie is one of the few who voted against trade deals like NAFTA and PNTR. Trade deals that destroyed the working class job market in the rust belt. This is an advantage when we are trying to win back those voters. It is a disadvantage to put up a candidate that voted or supported those deals.
When you have a Congress that is openly taking money from all of the people and groups who do not want populist ideas to come to fruition, it’s not shocking at all that the one person who does not participate in this would be alienated. It would be like being in a room of 7 people, 6 of whom are all trying to cheat on their spouse and one guy standing there telling them that what they are doing isn’t right. It’s the same concept in DC except everyone is taking money from big companies and wealthy individuals, crafting laws that reflect those donations, and looking down on Sanders for not taking the same route. I would much rather have a representative in office that has only taken small individual donations from millions rather than someone who raised a lot of money through a few wealthy Super PACs and lobbyist. This makes me feel comfortable about the decision making process that our leader would use when crafting new legislation and that the working class will be his number 1 concern, not just a few wealthy contributors that other candidates would feel obligated to listen to.
With all this being said, I know the first few comments will be “Look at the Bernie bro trying to divide us again based on purity test.” but I disagree. Bernie did nothing to warrant Hilary coming out and rehashing that statement. She should have said something about not wanting to divide the base and that she will support whoever the nominee is, this would have been the most strategic answer she could have given. Being a couple of weeks before the Iowa caucus with Bernie in a slight lead, it’s definitely VERY suspicious for Hilary to come out now and rehash these old comments. I want to know when will the Democratic voters finally recognize that when the establishment comes out against Sanders in the way that they do, it forces the people supporting him to pick a side. We are obviously going to side with the person we believe would be best suited for the nominee. If we are expected to fall in line and vote for the Democratic nominee, even if it’s not Bernie, then we would like to know that the establishment Democrats and their supporters would do the same if Sanders did win the nomination. Comments like the one Clinton made does not make us believe that unity is a reality and it pushes would be Democratic voters into feeling alienated by the party that supposedly represents them and their concerns. This is the exact opposite of the unity message that I hear Centrist Democrats preach to progressive voters. The secret is that they only want unity if it’s unifying under their goals and plans. Democracy doesn’t quite work that way.