Hillary Folks- Stop Telling Bernie People to "Unite"

Eight years ago this month, Hillary Clinton dropped out of the race for President, conceding the nomination to then-Senator Barack Obama. During that campaign, I had worked for her, and at that time I was very, very disappointed. It took me a little time to accept the result and move on. I did, and I voted for President Obama, and I'm proud that I did. I can't lie and say it was easy though.

Right now, supporters of Bernie Sanders are in a similar situation. Hillary is about to be nominated in July's convention in Philadelphia. Bernie Sanders, after a long and hard fought campaign, is going to come up a little short of victory. His supporters, some of whom have put their heart and soul into the race, are now forced to come to grips with that, and make their decision about how to move forward. It's tough. I wasn't with them during this campaign, but I feel their pain. You don't come around over night, despite pledges to do so every time.

I have complete and total faith in most of the Sanders supporters. Are there some "Bernie or Bust" people who can't be reached? Sure, and I have made my opinions clear about them in the recent past. The overwhelming majority of Sanders supporters are smart and decent people, with whom I share many values- a commitment to combatting climate change, a living wage for an honest day's work, support for public education, a desire to see universal health care, a belief in common-sense gun laws, and many more progressive positions. We may not agree on the details to do it, but we share the goals. I believe that 85-90% of the Sanders supporters are good, decent people who will come to the responsible decision about moving forward in this Presidential race, in part because of our shared values, and in part because of Donald Trump.

The Sanders supporters don't need my advice on what to do, they're adults and can figure out what's right for them. They also don't need me to tell them "it's time to unite." They should work on their time line and come to their own decision. The folks who need my advice are my fellow Clinton supporters. We need to win with some level of decency. Stop telling Sanders people what they need to do right now. It's June. They can think and come to their own conclusions. Do they need to accept the reality of the race at this time? Yes. Do they have to "get on board" with it today? No. Give them time.

I have faith that things will work their ways out. Give them time to do so. For my fellow Clinton supporters, put your energies into positive things, working hard to talk to voters and donate to the campaign. Don't put your energies into badgering Sanders volunteers into supporting us.

My 2008 South Carolina Experience

Eight years ago today, I was either in Florence or Myrtle Beach, just having joined the Hillary Clinton campaign. When I say I made no money in South Carolina, I'm not lying a bit- they didn't really have much. They had places for me to stay free, a bit of money for food and gas, and that was really about it. Frankly, I don't know if I went there more because of the weather, my friends there, or the need to get back into the fray after Iowa, but I was there anyway.

Hillary obviously didn't win South Carolina in 2008, President Obama won a landslide. Ironically eight years later, the shoe is on the other foot, and Hillary needs a big win. I'm sure her operation there is getting any resources that it needs this time, and the national campaign has put their full attention into it. That is obviously good for the folks there this time. Separating this experience out from my more formal, longer term Hillary gig in Ohio last time, I actually have to say that my time in South Carolina was formational for me in 2008, and really was a lot of fun.

The Hillary operation in South Carolina in 2008 was dreadful. It was underfunded, had lacked direction for months, and never really had a chance. Yes, we had endorsements, some offices, and some great, committed volunteers, but that's about as far as it went. The mostly unpaid staff that worked Myrtle Beach (I'm not kidding) managed to find itself housing in a hotel that was closed for the Winter, owned by a supporter. Because there was no office there in 2008, that hotel ended up also basically being the office too. There was an office in Florence, and some paid staff there, but even they didn't have enough resources to compete.

Ironically though, I have a lot more positive to say about my time in South Carolina than I do about my time in Ohio, where we had everything under the sun. South Carolina was basically a sprint run, a sprint where we had a lot going on, but not a lot of help to make it happen. I saw President Bill Clinton give a speech for the first time in Myrtle Beach (I only ever saw him at parades and such in Iowa) at a high school, and the event literally went all night- he got there late, and then insisted on taking questions and engaging the crowd, in typical Bill fashion. I also staffed a Chelsea Clinton event at some sort of local college over in the Florence area, which was actually a lot of fun. There was also debate night over in Horry County, and the after party at the Hard Rock Cafe that featured America Ferrera and Keyshawn Johnson (easily one of the coolest events ever). A lot of fun stuff happened in South Carolina. I even found a great sushi place on the main drag going out of Myrtle Beach. It was a blast.

I learned a lot though too. It was my first time being exposed to some of the racial politics of the South, something that I struggled a lot with. Separate lit by race, preaching from the pulpit, and the "walking around money" issues that are so prevalent down there, were new to me in 2008. When I went to South Carolina, Hillary had just won New Hampshire, and she would win Nevada, but that momentum never carried through, in no small part because of racial divisions and frankly, funding differences for the state by the two campaigns. Major things were happening nationally during my time in the Palmetto State- Hillary fired her campaign manager, Bill made the infamous Jesse Jackson and fairy tale remarks about Barack Obama- but it all seemed to be distant on the ground. It was like we were in a bubble there- but it certainly had an impact, the results prove that.

I remember commenting on how good I felt about things on election day in Horry County (Myrtle Beach). Things went great all day. We had volunteers in, turnout was good where we wanted it, and we were on our way to winning- at least I thought. At 7:00 on the dot, every major network called the state for Barack Obama, and I was shocked. I thought we had beaten the odds, and we had, but only in Horry County. It ended up being the only county in the state that Hillary Clinton won in a crushing defeat that night. The staff was basically sent home the next day, and that operation came to an unceremonious end. A few days later, my phone rang, and I was offered the job in Ohio for Hillary. I went, we won, and it wasn't pleasant. That's history though too.

I really enjoyed the Palmetto State, and the lessons I learned there. I'll have some fond thoughts as I watch the coverage of the Democratic Primary there this week.

Hope

I'm a pragmatist at heart. I'm skeptical of movements, "revolutions," and any attempts at "change" that are grounded outside of the political process. I am not saying they don't exist. Martin Luther King Jr. changed America with protestors, speeches, and no political office. Almost no leaders in modern America have the talents that King had. Even if they do, the odds are more likely they fail than that they achieve. I can point at a lot more LBJ's and Teddy Roosevelts than MLK's. Most change comes from within the process, and that requires sometimes painful compromise. That's not easy. It's not always nice. It's almost never popular. It does make peoples' lives better.

In 2008, I was not a support of President Obama's until he was the nominee. He wasn't in my top three choices in the Democratic Primary, in fact (for the record, my order of preference in the beginning of 2008 was Dodd, Biden, Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Kucinich, Richardson). I found his "hope and change" message to be pie-in-the-sky, something I thought had no grounding in reality. He not only won me over in that election, he eventually has become someone I admire now and think has done an excellent job. President Obama has shown that he can both inspire and get in the trenches to get things done. At the time though, I definitely preferred Hillary Clinton's "LBJ" to President Obama's "JFK."

Fast forward eight years, to a new election. Bernie Sanders is now the candidate of the activist left. He's attracting huge crowds, even bigger than President Obama's 2008 crowds at this point. He's inspiring youth to want to vote for him. He's speaking what many progressives feel is truth to power. He's also calling for a "political revolution" in this country, one that takes on the entrenched power interests in this country. He's got stars like the Red Hot Chili Peppers endorsing him and throwing concerts to raise money for him. Bernie is the "change" candidate now. He is the "hope."

We're having this same fight again- Hillary's uninspiring realism vs. Bernie's version of the Obama "hope and change" tour. Bernie's offering you ice cream for breakfast, versus Hillary's "eat your peas and carrots." The truth is, there is no passion and energy for realism, for working within the system, for working to make incremental change, and Bernie seems to know that. There is also a very strong track record of realism being what gets the job done.

Unlike eight years ago, I'm a little older now, and a lot less emotionally invested into this race. The truth is, voting for realism is always smart- you know what you're getting, and you can honestly hold the candidate accountable to do it. Hillary Clinton should be expected to make the deals to get some of her priorities done. The other side of that coin is that people need hope. People need to feel something will change. They have to feel that their lives are going to be better. If they don't, what's the point? If Hillary could ever explain how her pragmatic view of the world will deliver that, she would have won the runaway nomination that we all thought she would. That's tough though. People don't want to eat their vegetables, they want their cake. If Hillary, or really anyone else for that matter, were capable of selling pragmatism as great change, they would have done it by now. Since they can't, you're left with a battle between cold realism and dreams and hopes.

My guess is that Hillary will eventually win the Democratic nomination for President. Pragmatism actually usually wins. President Obama is one of the few times where the inspirational, transformational candidate beat the realist. There are a lot more Howard Deans, Bill Bradleys, and Eugene McCarthys in our history than Barack Obamas. President Obama even acknowledges now that he did not change American politics. To be totally fair to him, he made incredible change that helps peoples lives. He changed our health care system, our banking system, our energy system, our foreign policy, and many other areas of our lives. He did that though through pragmatism and inside ball. Yes, he kept Organizing for Action open, and his volunteer army played a huge part. That still doesn't explain how he passed his Stimulus bill.

Hope is critical. Inspiration is key. To the extent that Hillary Clinton eventually figures that out, it will determine if she can win the Presidency. Her ability to rise above the clouds and give people a reason to be excited will be what ultimately makes her the winner, or not. In the end though, I return to my 2008 self and say it again- hope doesn't make change by itself.

The Bernie as Obama Comparison is Tired

It's a week out from the Iowa Caucus. A candidate who has the support of his party's liberal base, a well organized ground game in Iowa, and the support of the youth vote is possibly surging past Hillary Clinton, despite her establishment support and Des Moines Register endorsement. Is it 2008? Is it Barack Obama? No to both. It's Bernie Sanders, and his supporters want you to see the similarities.

The problem is that Bernie Sanders is not Barack Obama. Forget Hillary for a minute, who is still Hillary, and let's focus on Bernie. Bernie is very different from Barack Obama. 2016 is very different from 2008. There are many things to consider-

• Despite being the grassroots favorite in 2008, it's important to note that President Obama fought his way up through the Chicago political establishment to become U.S. Senator, while Bernie Sanders has consistently turned away the Democratic establishment in Vermont on his way to being a U.S. Senator. These guys have very different political identities.
• President Obama was a unique, "first of his type" candidate as the eventual first African-American President. Bernie is hardly the first white guy, Senator to run to the left of the establishment pick. We've had Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, Bill Bradley and others. Some won. Some lost.
• Yes, Republicans have called Barack Obama a socialist, communist, usurper, and all other kinds of "political slurs." President Obama is not a socialist, or any of those other things though. We can debate whether or not Bernie Sanders is, or whether or not it's a good or bad thing, but he says he's a Socialist. Republicans will do what they may with that. It's more plausible that the public will believe their characterization, given his embrace of it.
• In 2008, most of the advantages were swinging the Democrats way heading into that election. In 2016, we could face a recession, serious unrest in the Middle East, global market fears, and many domestic fights that don't necessarily swing our way.
• Barack Obama was from neighboring Illinois, and was decently well known to Iowans. He also could send loyalists into Iowa to campaign for him. Bernie Sanders does not enjoy these advantages in Iowa. He does in New Hampshire though.
• In 2008, the caucus was held while colleges were not in session, making it much more difficult for President Obama to turn out college students. He did it though. It actually should be somewhat easier for Bernie to make good on his advantage with youth, as school will be back in session.
• The 2008 race had six Democrats, with three who had a shot to win by caucus night. In 2016, there are just three Democrats running, with just two viable candidates to win. The race is shaped different.
• President Obama had a much more modest domestic agenda in 2008 than Bernie Sanders does today. He wasn't proposing "Medicare for all," free college education, a major increase in the minimum wage, or many of the other expensive items in Bernie's agenda. President Obama did have a very aggressive foreign policy agenda, but that caucus was largely contested on those grounds.

I could continue to go on and on. Yes, both were the insurgent at the time, and both were running against Hillary Clinton. That's about the end of the similarities. Bernie Sanders candidacy is entirely his own, and assuming he can do the same things Barack Obama did eight years ago ignores the obvious differences.

Idiots of the World, Unite.

It's 2016. That's Sarah Palin on stage with Donald Trump. He's leading a major party's nomination battle for President. She is still a relevant endorsement to help him get there. He says she will have a role in his administration. This is real life. This actually happened yesterday in beautiful little Ames, Iowa (I've been there, it really is a nice town).

My head hurts.

I cannot, for the life of me, understand what her supporters hear when she speaks. I hear the ramblings of a lunatic, and it defies any logic I have as to how she ran a state for half of a term. She has publicly discredited herself with crazy statements, and shown both a lack of knowledge and desire to learn about the world. Her presence on the 2008 Republican ticket discredited John McCain, and put the final nail into his political coffin in his lifetime quest to be President. Her speeches make my head hurt. I can't believe people listen to her and think they hear a national leader.

I guess in some ways, this is full circle for the GOP. In 2008, John McCain's advisors apparently didn't like the Lindsey Grahams, Tom Ridges, or Joe Liebermans of the world that McCain wanted to consider for Vice-President, and so the fateful decision was made to put this woman on the national ticket as a "viable" option to be a heartbeat from the Presidency. We got such gems as "drill baby, drill," and other intellectual gold from her, and she unleashed a wave of anti-intellectualism that lead to the Tea Party, to the entire 2012 primary mess the Republicans had, and now a 2016 Presidential race where Donald Trump and Ted Cruz spend every day trying to "out crazy" each other. Of course we would see Sarah re-emerge less than two weeks before Iowa, the Godmother of the GOP's crazy movement wishing to endorse the ring leader of the 2016 circus. It is fitting that in a race where a reality-TV star and billionaire is leading, Palin would endorse him, and he would say she has a role in his future White House. This is how that is supposed to end. You unleash a Palin, you end up with a Trump. You unleash the Tea Party, you end up with a Cruz. This is real world consequences for real world actions.

At this point, it's hard to describe the Republican Party as much more than a circus freak-show, a place where anti-intellectualism is now thriving. "Caribou Barbie" is back on the scene, reminding us of how the GOP found a way to get worse than it was in the days of Dick Cheney. That didn't seem possible then. I think we all wish it hadn't been possible, now.

Happy Friday, October 23rd, 2015

Bruce playing unplugged at a Get Out The Vote rally for then-Senator Obama in 2008.
Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr.