Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Sanders Challenges Clinton for Democratic Nomination

Vermont's independent and self-proclaimed socialist Senator Bernie Sanders announced yesterday that he is running for president as a Democrat. This challenge to Hillary "Inevitable" Clinton represents a serious political problem for the former Secretary of State. At the same time, he offers Mrs. Clinton a way to secure the centrist vote she will need. If her team believes Mr. Sanders is running to win the election, they will probably botch both the threat and the opportunity. Mr. Sanders is running to promote ideas and force traditionally Democratic solutions to America's problems back into the mainstream of political debate.

The serious problem posed is a variation of the conundrum both parties have. To win the nomination, a candidate must run to the extreme side of the party. To win the general election, that candidate must tack back towards the political center. Without a strong voice on the left during the primary season, Mrs. Clinton won't have to make the move that direction. This makes regaining center ground easier. With Mr. Sanders in the race, her challenge is to take some of the wind from his sails by agreeing with much of what he says while doing so in such a way that the false perception of her being a raving radical among some is not reinforced.

At the same time, this challenge offers Mrs. Clinton a chance to put some distance between her and the more progressive parts of the Democratic Party, who will vote for her if she is the nominee no matter what. By picking and choosing where and when to disagree with Mr. Sanders, she can triangulate as well as her husband ever did. When a Republican argues that she will be too left-wing, she can trot out video that shows her arguing against various left-wing positions.

The threat and the opportunity are there if and only if the Clintonistas understand that Mr. Sanders knows right now that he is not going to be sworn in as president on January 20, 2017. He is, therefore, not going to be tied to whatever the polls say, and he is not going to have to run away from stances he has taken as a congressman and senator over the years. The message not the messenger is what is important. Beating Mr. Sanders shouldn't be hard. Beating his ideas shouldn't be easy.

CNN reported, "Specifically, Sanders promised to spend $1 trillion to create 13 million jobs in a massive infrastructure program, to double the minimum wage to $15 an hour, to end the 'greed' of the 'billionaire class' by raising taxes for the wealthy and to break up the largest financial institutions in the country." He said that any bank that was too big to fail was too big to exist.

CNN also noted, "In a progressive, government-led program that would indeed represent a revolution if it was ever passed, Sanders promised a single-payer state health care system, free college tuition at colleges and universities and to reverse climate change."

No one disputes that America's infrastructure is in need of a serious upgrade, although the question of how to do that remains unsettled. Even among Tea Party supporters, there is sympathy for the view that the bankers got bailed out in 2008 because they privileged access to government funds. Taxing the wealthy, making college free, tackling climate change and establishing a single-payer healthcare system are all standard Democratic stances from before the Clinton presidency. Mrs. Clinton is going to have to talk about these issues.

Mr. Sanders is not the only challenger Mrs. Clinton will face for the nomination. Lincoln Chaffee, Martin O'Malley, and Jim Webb will be throwing their hats into the ring in the coming days. Their objectives (to win, to be the vice-presidential nominee, to sell memoirs) will become apparent as the campaign goes on. Mr. Sanders' is clear right now; he wants the nominee of the Democratic Party to carry out a traditionally Democratic program when elected. This journal is unsure of how comfortable Mrs. Clinton would be doing that, hence the value of his challenge.

© Copyright 2015 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



Kensington Review Home