Towards the end of his campaign, Bernie desperately tried to clutch onto arguments justifying his staying in. Bernie's final line of attack seemed to be that he was more electable, but as his campaign winds down, it's clear that the Democrats would be competitive if they ran a yellow dog. Hillary goes into the general election in a position of strength over Donald Trump, who now has disapproval ratings of 70%, including 56% 'strong' disapproval ratings. Bernie's second major argument was that flipping superdelegates could get him the nomination. First, there are not enough superdelegates to win him the nomination. Second, why on earth would superdelegates flip en masse when it's been clear for so long that Hillary will be the nominee? Bernie's last arguments simply do not hold up, and consider this a call for Bernie fans online to drop the ill-fated pipe dream of a Sanders nomination.
Bernie himself has finally realized that he lost the nomination. He admitted so much himself, noting that "In all likelihood it [the nominee] will be Hillary Clinton". Thus, the focus has shifted away from the nomination and towards a more subtle, but quite important facet of the primary, that of Bernie's legacy and especially his impact on the platform. While obviously winning the nomination is the end goal of most primary runs, having an influence on the party's platform and rhetoric also plays a major role. In fact, there are countless candidates in Democratic history who could be considered issue candidates. Typically weak issue candidates run to draw attention to specific positions. Examples include: Dennis Kucinich in 2004 and 2008 (Iraq War), Larry Agran in 1992 (urban revitalization), and Eugene McCarthy in 1968 (Vietnam War). I wouldn't consider Bernie to be an issue candidate because of how organized, comprehensive, and popular he was. I'd say Bernie is more politically analogous to Jesse Jackson than he is to most issue candidates. Bernie Sanders, like Jesse Jackson, is likely to register a huge impact on the party in the long run, aside from calling attention to just one issue. Both Jackson and Sanders attracted support for their stances on a number of issues, not just one or two. Both played the game of coalitions. The effects of Jesse Jackson's campaign have been often discussed, and while disagreement exists on the scope and nature of his legacy, there's no question that Jesse Jackson made a difference. Now that the primary race is over, I believe the most important thing for progressive and populist Democrats to do is to analyze what the impacts of the Sanders campaign will be.
First, the Sanders campaign reinvigorated the Democratic Party's attachment to progressive principles. The Democratic Party, through the 1980's and 1990's, abandoned its New Deal roots. Led by forces like the Democratic Leadership Coalition, Bill Clinton, and Gary Hart, Democrats decided to jettison populist rhetoric in favor of more corporate language. This was reflected most in the Clinton administration, which passed bank deregulation, telecom deregulation, welfare 'reform', and NAFTA. None of these four initiatives helped the average Americans that the Democrats had so vociferously defended in years prior. Wall Street and their related interests celebrated these neoliberal reforms, and the stock market soared under Bill Clinton. The Democrats largely continued this strategy, albeit with some exceptions, through this election cycle. Even President Obama was remiss in not pushing for tougher regulations on Wall Street during the financial congress. The fact that with a Democratic congress, there was not meaningful action to break up banks and prosecute those who gambled away millions attests to the transformation of the Democratic Party. This corporate attitude is what in large part contributes to the party's sometimes detached attitude. Instead of talking to blue collar communities, Democrats are more often meeting with boardroom executives to decide on policy issues. This is the first difference the Sanders campaign has made. Bernie Sanders' campaign has pushed the party back to being concerned about the working class. Entirely reclaiming the party will be a gradual process, seeing as to how entrenched the DLC mentality is. However, a look at the platform, which some Sanders backers have griped about, reveals that Bernie scored some wins on progressive policy. First of all, Bernie got the chance to submit his choices to the platform committee. Already, inclusion of most progressive voices a major step towards shifting the party's direction. Sanders' choices were interesting to say the least, and while I don't like that he omitted any sort of outreach to rural interests, the committee choices were key to progressive policymaking. When the committee began to draft the platform, it became apparent that Bernie's influence would be felt. The end result, while omitting Palestine issues, a fracking freeze proposal (bad idea in my opinion), a fair trade plank, and carbon tax support, was definitely more populist in nature than recent platforms. It calls for expanding Social Security, which is one of the best historical Democratic achievements. This is a far cry from Bill Clinton's attempts to privatize Social Security. Moreover, there is a plank endorsing new Glass Steagall legislation to break up the biggest banks, which is precisely what Bill Clinton undid in the late 1990's. The 2016 Democratic platform thus directly rebukes the DLC wing's actions and calls for more than Obama even tried to accomplish. Bernie Sanders spent much of his time on the campaign trail calling for expanded social programs and major banking reform; these proposals made it directly into the platform, demonstrating a major victory for his campaign.
Second, Bernie Sanders' campaign gave us a glimpse into the future of the Democratic Party. Bernie won young people all over the United States. CNN exit poll data reveals not just an isolated bastion of youth support or two, but broad support from young voters for the grandpa-like Vermont socialist. In Iowa, 84% of voters ages 17-29 supported Bernie. In Wisconsin that figure was 82%, and even 65% of these voters in New York, Clinton's home state, backed Bernie Sanders. Looking to the states where Bernie lost by massive margins, he still did alright with young voters. In Arkansas, he won voters 18-29 with 58% while losing the whole state 66%-30%. In South Carolina, where he got 26% of the overall vote, Bernie finished with 60% of the vote of voters ages 17-24. Youth was a telling factor of Sanders support. As time goes on, these voters will become the leaders and spokespeople of the Democratic Party. Their support for a broadly progressive platform will likely translate into a more progressive Democratic Party as the years pass.
Finally, Bernie Sanders represents the populist direction Democrats need in order to win in farming communities, old mill towns, and mining regions. In blue collar areas, the ones Trump may do very well in come November, populist Bernie defeated the more technocratic Hillary Clinton. While major labor unions eschewed support for Sanders, their rank and file members tended to be more supportive of his pro-worker agenda. From Harlan County, Kentucky, a coal mining area whose history is fraught with labor-management conflicts, to high-poverty Choctaw County, Oklahoma, Bernie Sanders performed well in ancestrally New Deal Democratic strongholds. During the Great Depression, FDR's passage of pro-labor, pro-family, pro-worker New Deal legislation endeared these voters to the Democratic Party. LBJ's Great Society programs further helped outreach efforts, but over the years, Democrats stopped hearkening back to these achievements and lost New Deal coalition counties. Bernie's populism is reminiscent of the New Deal approach that used to have rural areas and working class communities across the US locked down for Democrats. Besides his raw support, many of the remaining Democrats who represent these communities, like Rep. Dan Lipinski and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, supported Bernie. While his primary strength in these white working class areas may not necessarily translate to Democratic strength there in the general election, especially with Clinton as a nominee against Trump, Bernie proved that a populist message is the best approach to take when trying to reach out to groups the Democrats abandoned with their centrist corporate shift. This fundamentally makes sense. When Democrats fully and vocally embrace policies like a higher minimum wage, holding greedy corporations accountable, and strengthening workers' rights, they can perform better in blue collar areas of the country. Typically, working class bastions are most negatively impacted by recklessly advanced 'free' trade policies. Free trade is anything but free for working America. Therefore, Bernie's strong anti-TPP stance resonated greatly with this group. Populist Democratic policies are directly beneficial to struggling communities and should be the emphasis of campaigns. Bread and butter economic issues speak to voters more than theoretical ramblings about the "values" of deregulation or dodging issues. Following Bernie's lead can also help Democrats win back rhetoric. We're the real pro-family party, but this line of support will only stick when Democrats move in a more progressive economic direction. Ignoring our losses has been tried-and it doesn't work. Democrats can't just sweep aside blue collar voters and expect to win. That's the strategy that lost us countless state legislatures, congressional seats, and gubernatorial races across the country. Bernie proves that there is a smart way forward in focusing on an economically populist message.
While it's regrettable that Bernie's run did not end in victory for the nomination, we must conclude that his campaign was a victory in many other ways. He was able to establish himself as more than a single issue candidate, and like Jesse Jackson, his positive contribution will be felt for years to come. The campaign was a win for a more progressive platform, for the party's future, and for smart blue collar outreach. Democrats should learn with Bernie's successes that it's time for a new populist agenda. It's time to stop kowtowing to corporations. Bernie's campaign is the first step towards the Democratic Party reclaiming its historical mantle as the party of the people. This is so much more than one campaign. This is, as Bernie himself ascribed it, political revolution in action.
