Bernie Sanders brought his campaign to North Carolina yesterday. An overflow crowd of around 10,000 people packed the Greensboro Coliseum Special Event Center. It was an impressive showing but Sanders will never be president.
Bernie is this year’s Howard Dean. He’s tapped into dreams of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party that’s made up of mostly activists and young people. Like Dean, he may bring more people into the process and keep the base fired up. But also like Dean, he probably has a relatively low ceiling of support.
Bernie has been calling himself a socialist for decades. Rightly or wrongly, that’s a label that renders him unelectable in the United States. Socialists have been demonized since the First Red Scare. Now, Sanders is putting out videos explaining why Americans shouldn’t be scared of socialists. Anybody explaining why voters should not be afraid of him has already lost the election.
As for Hillary, she needs somebody to shake up her campaign. Clinton has surrounded herself with people who see their role as defending her against a slew of enemies that includes the press. They’ve stage-managed the campaign to the point that Clinton has little authenticity left. To remedy that, they are planning for her to be more spontaneous. As Dana Milbank says, the Clinton campaign puts the moron into oxymoron.
Clinton’s problem is trust. It’s not that people don’t trust her, though that’s true. It’s that she doesn’t trust anybody. So, she’s surrounded herself with long-term aides with blind loyalty. They seem to have an us-against-the-world mentality that is contrary to a campaign that needs to bring people in instead of keeping people out. They need to be fighting Republicans but they’re spending more time fighting the media and other perceived enemies.
Clinton is not likely to lose to Bernie Sanders and as long as her current advisors know that, they are unlikely to dramatically change course. But she needs an outside force to alter the behavior of her campaign. She needs an opponent like Joe Biden.
Biden is everything Clinton is not. He’s gaffe prone, emotional, and spontaneous. He’s an everyman who rode the Amtrak to Delaware every night when he was in the Senate.
Biden certainly has the experience and credentials to serve as President. However, he is an old white guy who won’t excite much of the Democratic base. His lack of discipline might make him unable to win the White House. More importantly, though, if Hillary Clinton cannot beat Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, she probably can’t beat a Republican next November. Let’s have a primary.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Well, one difference is Sanders reprehensible support of the NRA to keep his job in Vermont.
Thomas, you certainly got the Bernie bots rattled with this column. The truth is there is little difference between Bernie and Hillary’s platform compared to ANY Repub candidate. There is still probably a 90% chance Hillary will be our candidate in Nov 16. I plan on supporting the Democratic candidate. Peace out.
Bernie bots? That’s insulting. And seriously – similar platforms? Wow.
The winds are shifting and your bottomless font of conventional wisdom is as useless as Hillary’s pledge to plan to be more spontaneous. Something is going on and you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Mills?
Mr. Mills, you have a ‘huge’ wake up call coming!
Senator Sanders will be the next President of the United States.
#FeelTheBern!!
Until Sanders can start attracting support from African Americans, Latinos, and others from the non-Birkenstock and Volvo crowd he hasn’t a ghost of a chance winning the nomination let alone a general election.
I certainly seen tons of his bumper stickers in the parking lot of my local Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods (many on the aforementioned Volvos — please can we progressives at least make an effort not to fulfill stereotypes? — but I digress) but never on the cars the paring lot of Bi-Lo’s or Target.
Sen. Sanders certain has something to contribute to this process and a lot of what he is saying needs to be heard, but until he can broaden his appeal beyond the Birkenstock crowd the gist of Mr. Mills’ post is spot on.
As they say, “you can take a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”. Don’t discount your so-called Volvo, Birkenstock crowd. You may be pleasantly surprised! Bernie’s doing extremely well and he’s not even warmed up!
Gee, Nortley, you beg progressives to not fulfill stereotypes while your offer a post FULL of them. Berkenstocks. Volvos. Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods. BiLo’s., Target. Yeah, ya did.
Progressive Wing, I was simply reporting what I saw — Volvos at Trader Joe’s with Sanders bumper stickers, cars at BiLo’s without.
Nortley, what you observed may be anecdotal evidence of what many think has been a genuine problem for the Democratic Party for a number of years now. The fact that we have appealed strongly to folks who have advanced degrees and live in cities (and wear Birkenstocks and drive Volvos and drink Perrier) but have failed miserably at appealing to what should be our core constituency, working people. Guys who work with their hands, drive cars built by members of the UAW, drink Budweiser and have always referred to the woman they live with as “my wife”). We need to get our heads out of our hindquarters and figure that one out. If we do, the Republicans will be sucking wind.
It is on core economic issues that the appeal to this constituency needs to be made. The issues that made my parents and grandparents (and me) Democrats. Ironically, it is politicians like Sanders and Warren who best articulate these issues. The very politicians who appeal to those Birkenstock wearing, Häagen-Dazs eating folks.
Here’s a thought. Maybe we could build a coalition of disparate groups. You know, the essence of winning elections and wielding power in order to effect positive change.
And me and my parents Dan. Great summation.
Very disappointing perspective and article Mr. Mills! Joe Biden is a warmonger and an establishment insider, just like Billary, and if elected both would continue the Bush/Obama neo-con script of perpetual war and US. global imperialism. If Sanders doesn’t have a chance it is only because the powers that be are not only going to let a non-insider candidate into the Oval Office.
An amazing string of posts — for a Thomas Mills blog! Out of 14 posts so far, only two agree with Thomas (and even then to varying degrees). The rest profess either a preference for or belief that Bernie can win the nomination/election.
My thinking is that the HRC campaign/candidacy comes across as overly contrived and orchestrated. Hillary herself just does not excite enough liberals, progressives, or those in the center. She biggest “difference” she represents is only in terms of being a first woman with the best chance ever to gain a major party presidential nomination and possibly win the WH.
Her thinking and message is somewhat old school and tired, with nothing of the maverick freshness and zeal of Bernie or Warren in voicing grassroots worker class (i.e., “the 95%”) issues and needs.
I will vote for any slate running against the GOP nominees, inasmuch as I will always vote progressive over regressive (and all 15 of the Clown Car Riders are waaayyy backward in thinking and vision). But, that said, I could definitely get more enthused and passionate about a Dem slate that included any pairing of Bernie/Biden/Warren—in any order of President/VP.
Apparently, Mr. Mills, you have little faith in a majority of Americans moving on past McCarthyism, The Cold War, the causes of the Vietnam War & other communist-related events in History.
The Cold War is over. The U.S. has normalized diplomatic relations with Cuba. The aging judgmental & ignorant populace is dying off. The Youth vote & activism is highly underestimated by you.
You call for (or muse about) a (3rd) Biden run for the presidency. Perhaps you forget too soon Lt. Governor Walter Dalton’s late-in-the-game, behind-the-8-ball candidacy for governor. We all saw the unfortunate results of that.
A Biden presidential run would require a well-organized & well-developed field work plan. He simply doesn’t have that in place. More than that, if you saw his interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, you would have seen that his heart isn’t in it. Let the man mourn, serve & heal.
The voters care more about having a candidate who speaks truth to power & doesn’t play by the establishment rules. That candidate is Bernie Sanders.
He is surging in the polls & drawing thousands around the country (nearly 10,000 last night in Greensboro). He has proven he is not a “fringe” candidate & he will become more & more known as time goes on.
The debates will give another glimpse of Sen. Bernie Sanders, our future president.
Here are a couple for now:
http://egbertowillies.com/2015/09/13/bernie-sanders-continues-his-surge-explains-why-he-is-electable-video/
http://ringoffireradio.com/2015/09/cornel-west-explains-why-bernie-sanders-is-going-to-win/
I’m a Hillary supporter but like all of you, I’m happy that Bernie has had so much support for his campaign and I agree that Joe would make the mix more interesting. However, what’s been keeping me up at night lately is the situation in the Middle east (I lived in Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the 1970s and ’80s) and I know that Hillary has the foreign policy experience to lead the US on the diplomatic front.
Obviously Secretary Clinton has the foreign policy chops. She did a fine job at State. She was a pretty fair Senator too. Guys at the Pentagon gave her high marks for doing her homework and asking the right questions when she was on the Armed Services Committee.
She has the resume. It is the hawkishness that gives many people pause. And with her vote in favor of our idiotic and counterproductive invasion of Iraq she may have “triangulated” herself right out of the nomination in 2008. Had she stepped up to the plate and added her voice to those opposing that major strategic blunder she might have been the nominee in 2008. Many people believe her eye was on the White House and the aye vote was the one she thought would help her get there.
Let’s not forget Joe Biden’s years on the Foreign Relations Committee. He is no slouch when it comes to foreign policy. And Biden helped push the Obama administration in the direction of doing the right thing on a few occasions when others were calculating the politics. Marriage equality comes to mind. He pissed off a lot of folks in the White House with his very public comments on the subject when they were going slow and holding their fingers up in the breeze to see which way the wind was blowing. Turned out he was right about both the policy and the politics of it. Good instincts and a desire to do what is right can be an awesome combination.
Play to win. You play not to lose and you usually do.
I want to see all that stuff from the Onion used in Biden campaign commercials too. Shirtless Joe washing the Trans Am in the White House driveway was my personal favorite.
I think it’s time to Take Senator Bernie Sanders Serious!! VP Joe Biden has said as much he doesn’t have his heart into it so leave a Great Politician alone & OK North Carolina, Let’s make internet History!! In 2016 Let us see if we can put a Real Citizen, & Retired Marine in the Senate Not a Bought & paid for Politician & remove & Replace Richard Burr the Do-nothing Senator from North Carolina!!! I will be looking for all kinds of help as soon as I figure out how to run against the Money that is running this State & this Country! My name is John R Martin from Newport NC & I approve this Message!!! Semper Fidelis!!!
I think your analysis is spot on with regard to all three candidates (or, in Biden’s case, potential candidate).
Hillary has got to come out of the damn bunker and take a risk every now and then. When you are playing for stakes this high you don’t win by being ludicrously overcautious. With all the history of every aspect of the Clinton’s lives being investigated down to a gnat’s ass I get that she might be a bit gun shy. But that campaign needs some fresh blood. People who don’t share the seige mentality.
The detailed plan to be spontaneous was the last straw. Talk about your bad jokes. I thought the Republicans were the ones who didn’t get irony. Evidently the Clinton campaign doesn’t either.
The Sanders people are very passionate (witness the emotional attacks your analysis provoked). Passion is good. And I happen to think he is right on the issues. I love the guy. But like you, I don’t think he can win the presidency. Which is a shame and says more about our flawed system than it does about Senator Sanders.
I hope Uncle Joe gets in. The guy is a breath of fresh air. I’d vote for him in a presidential primary for sure. But even if Clinton wins the nomination, Biden will have aided the party. And maybe he will have enabled her to win in November. Just as the battle with Clinton made Obama a stronger general election candidate, I believe having to best Biden may strengthen Hillary for the general election.
I agree. Let’s have a primary!
I’m Ridin’ With Biden!
It really is sad to see factions of the Democratic Party try to ignore an actual grass roots candidate.
I actually love the idea of Bernie winning it. I even love the idea of Uncle Joe winning it. What I do NOT love is the idea of Hillary winning it. She is not “one of us”, she is part and parcel of the “machine” that is big donors and beholden politics. No thanks.
From what I understand, many of the values that Senator Sanders has in his platform were also put forth by Dennis Kucinich in 2008 and when voters were polled on the issues without a candidate’s name affixed to them Kucinich was at or near the top. Since the election season of 2007-2008, we have had a meltdown on Wall Street; two major supreme court cases that opened up the flood gates for big money and super pacs to distort the political process; an astro turf funded “counter revolution” in 2009-2010; and large numbers of millennials coming of age along with a seismic shift in the culture wars around marriage equality, medical marijuana/legalization, and wealth and income inequality. Couple that with the hard truth that Americans of all political stripes a) believe that the wealth inequality in our country is not as bad as it really is; and b) Americans favor a wealth and income distribution much closer to the reality in the Nordic countries and it is not a surprise that Senator Sanders is resonating with the electorate. In addition, a large number of “Trump” supporters are also tired of neo-liberal economic policies that simply do not work and thus lack the promised efficacy to sustain and broadly distribute prosperity. Once these “populists” finally ascertain that in a Trump world there are but a few oligarchs and most of them started with inherited wealth like the “Donald” did they will turn on him as well. Bernie is for real and it is not 2004. This is more like what I witnessed first hand with Senator Obama in 2007 and 2008 than the Dean’s rise in 2003-2004.
I just don’t see the Howard Dean comparison. I also can’t imagine anyone really wanting to vote for Joe Biden over the existing candidates. I could see an Al Gore run. I could also see Joe Biden having a “Dean Scream” moment, that I just don’t see Bernie Sanders making. Notice that Joe Biden’s age is an issue, but not Bernie Sanders age. I bet they are close.
If America can elect a non-white with a Muslim sounding name, we can elect an old Socialist. It is not like the whole country goes socialist just because the president is. I think that people thought JFK could never get elected because he was Catholic and America would be ran by the Pope. I am not 100% sure on that, this was before my time.
I also think the GOP did their best to paint Obama as a Socialist and how did that work?
The DNC has a primary. The DNC needs Bernie Sanders. The DNC needs some new ideas to solve some old problems.
#FeelTheBern
I agree with John: Obama in 2008 seemed a more uphill battle than Sanders in 2016, yet Obama won. I’m not an expert but I think it is too close to call who would win the primary election, let alone the general election. Sanders appeals to independents and others, not just to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
I love your diversion technique, Thomas, but I can understand why you Hillary supporters are running scared. And if you think Biden could strengthen Hillary, just imagine what Elizabeth Warren can do for Bernie’s platform!!
Sanders isn’t appealing to a fringe. He is an unknown who has very rapidly growing recognition with ordinary voters. His message is consistent and honest and he has been in politics long enough to know what he’s doing. His dismissal is absurd, and it is a kind of self-validating cynicism that has been solidified in the media with Citizens United. I have a growing suspicion that major media sources are actually being instructed to downplay his coverage. Trump is getting heaps of media coverage with sheer idiocy–the press is happily rubbernecking at that GOP trainwreck. Sanders is currently the only competent, serious contender to Clinton from any party, and Clinton has serious issues with her base, not to mention the industry of Hil-haters that has thrived for decades dogging her heals. His support is multiplying among the same voters that her support is diminishing. I don’t think Biden can do that. He also has a very good shot at winning over Libertarians, once he has enough exposure for them to hear his message.
More self-serving BS from the consultant class that profits from the big donor money that flows to the “electable” candidates blessed by the establishment.
You do have to explain socialism. And when you do – and you explain that “democratic socialism” is behind the great quality of life, diversity and income equality in other countries – people understand what it is. And that folks like Thomas are demonizing it to preserve the North Carolina way (rule by business progressives who don’t give a damn about the working and middle class) – influenced by people like him.
Bernie will do better than Dean did and will win because the base knows how to play the game and cancel out the influence bought by big money. He’s calling for a revolution that will organize every precinct and block with progressive Democrats who will push our party to represent the People and stop showing so much “love” to the rich and the upper middle class. Because if that doesn’t work – the pitchforks will be coming out soon. Can you guess where the pitchforks will be point at?
Amen, Brother. Well said!
Bernie is a leader and he’s inspiring people who are sick of the old neo-liberal-corporatist political system of the Dem party. We will work and fight to get our man elected. Do not underestimate us. The ‘socialist’ label is either irrelevant or very attractive to people in an economy when everyone can see rampant LEGAL corruption and the rich screwing us over. We have seen the true impact of ‘trickle down economics” and we are ready for a change. #Bernie2016
that’s your opinion, it appears that the rest of the country want this “socialist” as he’s been drawing record crowds across the country. He’s actually leading in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, states that tend to forecast the elections. Just because *you* think he can’t win, doesn’t mean he can’t. It just means you prefer your head in the ground.
Bernie will win this. Biden isn’t even running.
Don’t be so sure, Thomas!