Over the years, the Democratic Party establishment gave us the War on Crime, the War on Drugs and the War on Terror. Now, they are organizing the War on Sanders. In last nights debate, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin selected an audience that was safely pro-Clinton. A group of minimum wage activists were blocked from entry. Local activists reported (www.dailykos.com/… and www.dailykos.com/...) that the party gave away only one ticket by lottery. The rest of the tickets were distributed in some manner that the Party does not care to discuss. The audience was so out of touch with reality that it even cheered the name of Henry Kissinger.
A few days ago, Jacobin (www.jacobinmag.com) published a useful summary of the Democratic Party establishment’s efforts to prevent, at all costs, the nomination of Bernie Sanders. It is well worth reading.
Having gone through the 1968 and 1972 election cycles, I can see a similar series of events unfolding. The Democratic Party professional class is once again at war with its base. The people are angry and want change. The party elite, the professionals, want a comfortable life of power brokering and fund-raising followed by a even more comfortable second career as lobbyists. To this end, the elite want to keep the base quiet, compliant, and misinformed.
Bernie Sanders as a candidate bothers them.
Bernie Sanders as president terrifies them.
The entire collective of elected officials, pundits, foundation managers, lobbyists, journalists, and consultants have mobilized to stop Sanders. They did not want a primary fight. And they planned ahead to prevent one.
Yet before the campaign began, a strong majority of Democratic voters preferred to see a competitive primary, rather than a race dominated by “one strong candidate.” Party officials, however, had decided on a Clinton coronation.
By April 2015, over half of the Democratic Senate caucus had already backed her bid for the nomination — far more early endorsements than any candidate in either party has gained in this century. To date Clinton has won the backing of 38 of 46 Senate Democrats, 148 of 188 House Democrats, and 12 of 18 Democratic governors.
These intra-party struggles between the Democratic voters and the professional class usually end with defeat. The interests of the people are not the interests of the professional.
- In 1968, the professional class won. Their chosen standard bearer was a safe but unelectable Hubert Humphrey.
- In 1972, the people won. Their candidate was abandoned by the party establishment who preferred defeat to reform.
It is too early to predict if the Democratic Party elite will lead us once again to defeat in this cycle. But they appear to be repeating the mistakes of the past.
I hope that the Democratic Party establishment comes to its senses.
As my father used to say, “A good politician is someone who finds a parade and gets in front of it.”