In this most unsettling of election years, the focus is now on the two major-party candidates: their flaws, their poll numbers, their supporters and critics, the latest outrage from Donald Trump.History, if we can rely on it, suggests that we’ll survive the campaign trauma, though – and that we’ll elect Hillary Clinton. And that things will return to some semblance of normal.
But there’s danger in that “normalcy.” Republican Party leaders may simply breathe a sigh of relief that they’re rid of Trump and can focus on obstructing Clinton. And Clinton and the Democratic Party may just get back to business as usual, reading the election results as an endorsement of their way of operating.
If so, that wilI mean neither party took its critics seriously. And that will be a tragedy. If current political leaders fail to understand what was at the root of the insurrection in both parties – if they fail to make basic reforms, in the way they operate and in the interests they serve – they will do a massive disservice to the country. And they will guarantee that we’ll see more of what we’re seeing in this election year, if not in the next national election, certainly sometime soon.
It seems way too optimistic to assume that party leaders will change by themselves, so it’ll be up to the rebels in both parties to force reform. The best organized are the Bernie Sanders supporters, who carried their fight all the way through the Democratic Convention, and who insist that they’ll continue their work.
Among them is local activist Kevin Sweeney, who, in an e-mail discussion with me, shared his thoughts about the post-convention Sanders revolution. Sweeney was raised in a family of Democrats – as a “Kennedy Catholic in Boston,” he said – and at age 7 was helping his father hand out campaign material at polls. But as an adult, he said, he didn’t become “truly active” in politics until Bernie Sanders announced that he would run for president. “No one inspired me like he did,” Sweeney said.
In May 2015, he began working as an area organizer for Progressive Democrats of America, and the following November the Sanders campaign’s state organizer asked him to put together a local Sanders slate. Those activists, joined by hundreds of volunteers, “canvassed, raised funds, phone banked, marched, purchased and distributed Sanders collateral, and opened an office in Rochester prior to the NYS primary,” Sweeney said. The result was an overflow crowd at the local Sanders rally, and an impressive showing on primary day. Clinton beat Sanders by fewer than 3000 of the 76,000 votes cast in Monroe County.
And now? “Although I believe Senator Sanders would do substantially better against Trump in the general election,” Sweeney said, “I have committed to voting for Secretary Clinton due to the concessions on the Democratic Platform – 80 percent of which was Senator Sanders. Not all of my fellow supporters agree, though,”
Here’s an edited version of my e-mail conversation with Sweeney:
CITY: How are you feeling about Hillary Clinton now? How are you feeling about the Democratic Party? And how are you feeling about the Democratic platform?
SWEENEY: I feel Secretary Clinton still needs to have a better understanding of the public’s perception of her – it’s no longer acceptable to blame things on the right wing-conspiracy. Her recent praise for Debbie Wasserman Schultz following Debbie’s resignation for the DNC’s bias against Bernie’s campaign demonstrated some people’s worst fears: Hillary rewards loyalists even when they break the rules; thereby, she encourages rule-breakers.
That was handled very poorly – especially when you have close to over 1500 Bernie delegates in attendance. That response to Debbie Wasserman Schultz was a slap in the face to Sanders’ supporters.
Personally, I have hope that the progressive platform will be supported enthusiastically, moving forward, by the entire Democratic Party. I know if they don’t, we will find a party that will.
I am dismayed by how some of the Bernie delegates and other supporters to the DNC have been treated [at the Democratic convention]. The New York State delegation has been far better than other states, but some of our delegates had their credentials stripped and further access denied because they participated in some protests.
Bernie started a revolution, and the Democratic Party will need to enthusiastically support the progressive platform or miss out. I saw a statistic that Bernie had more votes from people under 40 than Trump and Clinton combined. Progressives are the future of the Democratic Party, if they want us.
With social media and the web, some of the obstacles in creating a successful third party have become easier to overcome. Most of Bernie’s support growth came via social media and the web – not from corporate media. I discovered him on Facebook shortly after the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United through a meme he posted. I began following him that day and prayed he would mount a campaign for president. I am confident the political revolution will continue. Hopefully, we will be welcomed and supported.
President Obama said at the convention that the Democratic Party “is in good hands.” Do you believe it is? I’m not talking about who is chairing the party, I’m talking about the party itself, and the people who shape it. In good hands?
The parties belong to the voters, and the leaders should be a reflection of their voters. That’s what I have always believed and the message Bernie shared nationally. So, yes, with the large participation this year by younger voters, as long as they stay engaged, we are in good hands, as I believe the leadership will listen to them or face heavy competition when up for reelection.
President Obama also said in that speech: “So if you agree that there’s too much inequality in our economy, and too much money in our politics, we all need to be as vocal and as organized and as persistent as Bernie Sanders’ supporters have been during this election. We all need to get out and vote for Democrats up and down the ticket, and then hold them accountable until they get the job done. That’s right, feel the Bern!”
That is the foundation of the political revolution Senator Sanders began. I believe that progressives have been heard in this primary, and with the platform, I feel we now have a seat at the table. If the platform is not followed, I will be one of the first to begin to rally supporters to hold the party or person accountable.
I think the party is not in great shape but can be if the established party members open up and welcome in the progressive members. The two-party system is very entrenched in the US, so we hope we can be successful working within the party. That’s a much better alternative than working to start another party.
Bernie Sanders gave a strong endorsement of Clinton at the convention. But obviously, there are still key differences between Clinton’s positions and Sanders. Which ones are of the most concern?
It’s really one key issue for me: corporate and big-money support. I grew up in a party that was always for the working class and the less fortunate. In the last 20 years, the party moved to the middle and began courting big money. We’ve seen the impact of that in the appeal of Glass-Steagall, the trade bills, lack of movement to address climate change, the income gap so perfectly stated in Robert Reich’s “Inequality for All,” and more.
We have to focus on the needs of the entire population, not just the large, corporate interests. As an example, the national committee refused to release the sponsor list for the convention. That sends a very bad message to the voting public. The party needs to open the books and be more transparent to the voters in order to win back their trust and support. Senator Sanders proved that a strong campaign could be run without kowtowing to corporate interests.
Sanders has been urging supporters to continue the revolution. What should that revolution try to accomplish during the next four years?
Sanders’ supporters will be active in local elections throughout the country, including in Rochester, to campaign for candidates who support the progressive agenda. Our group, MC4BS, will vet local candidates and mobilize our army of volunteers to elect people who will continue our fight for the necessary reforms. We would like to work within the Democratic Party and elect representatives that reflect the Sanders’ platform.
And what should Bernie Sanders’ role be in it?
Bernie started the revolution, and I am confident he will continue to lead, regardless of his political position. When he first declared his candidacy, so many people dismissed him, and it took months for the national media to acknowledge him or to treat him seriously. He was able to overcome these obstacles and get his message to millions of Americans, but I think now he will be a frequent guest on political talk shows and will be welcome on late-night entertainment shows as well.
We saw the impact of his and our grassroots work at the convention, and I am confident he will continue to be a vocal leader and direct our efforts. I would love to see him lead a bi-partisan committee focused on addressing the voter fraud issues we faced in these primaries when he’s back in Washington.
Many of Sanders’ supporters are people who have never been involved in politics at before. Many others have been active around specific issues – Wall Street reform, minimum wage, police, immigration, the environment. Many Sanders supporters had not been registered Democrats. Do you view yourself more as an independent voter or as a Democrat?
I definitely identified with the 99% movement, the Green Party movement, and the labor movements. I grew up as a Kennedy Catholic in Boston, so the Democratic Party is in my blood. My sister and her husband worked in the White House in the first Clinton administration. But the party turned sharply to the middle in the 90’s, and I changed my registration.
I consider myself an American first and place loyalty to the party second. I think that is how Bernie is as well. I will be part of any party willing to reform our country and hope I can continue to be a Democrat.
What’s your assessment of political parties today? What reforms, if any, are needed?
There are so many to list – how many pages do you have available? I believe the foundation of most of our problems can be found in how we elect people to represent our needs. We have to make it possible to run campaigns without dependence on high-dollar donors. I believe in the public funding of elections and a short election cycle. I believe once we remove the need to raise big money to be elected, our officials can better represent their constituents.
Climate change legislation has to be second on my list. We have to acknowledge the reality that climate scientists have been telling us about for years and take action.
Also on our list are raising the minimum wage, educational reforms, free college education, voter registration reform, a single-payer health-care system, eliminating the for-profit-prison system, and stop moving government programs to private companies as has been suggested for Social Security.
Public trust in politics and in the government is at a very low point. What do elected officials and the political parties need to do to build the public’s trust and get the public’s engagement?
I believe that Sanders and Trump both did so well in the primaries because they are not considered part of the broken system. That’s a reflection on how most Americans view our elected officials. People don’t believe our government can be trusted, so the first step is to address that.
We have to remove the influence of money on policy, and we have to stop rewarding corporate donors or bundlers with cabinet-level and other government positions. This is not negotiable. We want our leaders to be loyal to the voters, not to the donors.
Lastly, be honest, open, work together regardless of party affiliation, and be transparent. I can dream, can’t I?
This article appears in Aug 10-16, 2016.
Mary Anna says: “History, if we can rely on it, suggests that we’ll survive the campaign trauma, though – and that we’ll elect Hillary Clinton. And that things will return to some semblance of normal.”
The only thing true and factual about this statement is that we’ll survive the campaign trauma.
You are projecting, wrongly, that we will elect Hillary Clinton and wrongly, that things will return to normal. History is some thing that already happened; are you clairvoyant to say Clinton will be elected?
If you call returning to and reinstating the Obama administration as being normal, then that’s your belief, so vote for Clinton to make you feel better.
Well, I am projecting that, as this election process goes on, the media will be working in your favor as well as to Clinton’s benefit .
The media will be selectively covering, omitting, twisting and manipulating the words of Donald Trump; to include digging up anything that may be stretched to reflect a negative on his image.
You will see that the media will continue to highlight the minuscule achievements and down play or not cover the many negative actions of Hillary Clinton.
If the media’s obvious biased coverage does not make one pause and doubt its credibility, then we are doomed to naivety and will succumb to the continuous downfall of our nation.
I am also projecting that on election day, many voters will turn out and quietly vote for Trump, because he hit a nerve that touched many people in our country; in that they are fed up with the lies and half-truths of this current administration.
The people will decide , without shouts and clamor that Trump will be the best choice and he may be worth the risk, for a change.
Don could you help us all find those videotapes of Muslims in New Jersey across the river, cheering on 9/11?
Troll Whisperer-
Try http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/trumps-claims-…
and http://www.nj.com/news/exclusive_jersey_city_cop_…
or
Just google: “Were Muslims cheering in New Jersey after 9/11?”
You’ll find a host of report.s that vindicate Trump’s statement.
Don, videos, not “reports..” There are plenty of “reports” that say, for example, no Jews were murdered in Treblinka or Auschwitz.
Mr. Sweeney seems like a very nice and idealistic young man, and I support probably most of what he proposes, but did anyone catch the unintended irony of his self-identification as a “Kennedy Catholic from Boston” – but wanting to remove money from politics? Moreover, to actually think we could remove money from politics – the best you can do is control it, at best – is living in world of rainbows and unicorns. Real change is a long, hard slog. How long did it take to pass ACA? About 50 years. Civil Right laws of the 60? You can trace back work done decades, including work in the 1930s, before, laying the groundwork for what was to come. At least Mr. Sweeney is supporting Hillary Clinton. Maybe some lesson was learned from the 2000 Election debacle (and I don’t recall Ms. Towler nor City Newspaper ever acknowledging the harm their supporting Ralph Nader in 2000 did to not just us but the whole world).
Don’t let the local, state or national Democratic establishment tell you what to do next. Stay independent!
The Dean campaign was a predecessor of Sanders and local Dean supporters have seen it all before. Don’t get sucked into supporting second rate candidates of the Democrats choosing. Always remember, you have the power.
If you want to know what the DNC is going to do with the Sanders revolution, look no further than what they did to Sanders (and to every other progressive agenda since the Carter administration) – Bury it! Anyone that thinks Hillary is going to sway one millimeter to the Left in response to Sander’s campaign is hopelessly deluding themselves.
Is the same with Obama’s terms where he began by immediately taking card check off the table along with single payer – these were major promises he had in his power to enact and didn’t even try. Democratic presidents will not enact progressive policies and don’t feel the need to when they can blackmail Centrists and Lefties by playing the lesser-evil card on second tier social issues. It comes back to who is paying the bills.
Progressives don’t line Hillary’s pockets sufficiently for her tastes, they aren’t going to get any of their concerns addressed…period. If you don’t like it stay home, just don’t vote for anyone else.
And when enough former Democrats, Progressives, or Populist voters defect to Stein’s campaign and “cost” Hillary the election, we’ll hear about how we should have closed ranks behind Clinton – despite every poll out there showing Sanders would have trounced Trump in the general election, but the DNC gave the people Hillary instead…by design. It was the gamble THEY were willing to take. Think about it, the DNC would rather have a possible President Trump than a guaranteed President Sanders. What more do you need to know.
Not to get personal here, but when it comes to articles relating to the Democratic Party at the Federal level, Mary Anna Towler should change her byline to Pollyanna Towler.
Well thank God we didn’t get Al Gore in 2000; who knows what a disaster that would have been! . .. oh wait –
Sanders has now left the Democratic party, having been part of it for a few months. So we can accurately assess his seriousness in reforming said party. That can include recent events like his putting the execrable Cornell West on the Platform committee – and then trying to have Barney Frank removed from the committee. West you might recall was a Nader support (and has since has also left the Democratic party and now supports Stein), who hates Obama, even stooping to call Obama “Rockefeller in Black Face”). in June Sanders was justly booed at a House Democratic meeting when he opined, “Elections aren’t about winning. They’re about . . .” Oh, I forget, something about transforming something or another. What utter nonsense.
Jill Stein? Her highest office . . . let’s see . . . oh, right: Town of Lexington (MA) Town Board. As Jesse Jackson, Jr. noted on Nader in 2000: the white luxury vote.
There is at least a 20% chance that Don is right and Trump will be elected. Rather long odds. The media do not need to twist his words, he does it for himself as witness his very indirect suggestion that the an NRA member might prevent a Clinton presidency in a messy way.
Back to Sanders. As a long time Independent who refused to join the Democratic Party until it suited his needs I hardly feel the party owed him unbiased support against a long time party member who has held office as a Democrat and been Secretary of State in a Democratic Administration. We do indeed live in a two party system and the way to participate is to be a member of the party. Bernie wanted to have it both ways, be an independent and then be a party member when it was the only way to achieve his objective. I would have far more interest in his run had he been a Democrat when he ran for Congress and for the Senate.
I am a life long Democrat and frankly I find many of his proposals to be far out to left and positions that guarantee a loss in a National Campaign.
Amen, Paul. And speaking of delusional, the notion Sanders would ever have taken states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Virginia, New Hampshire to name just a few is purely in the land of rainbows and unicorns.