This is a four chapter piece about the year since the 2016 American election that has changed everything, from the upset win to the current political climate Americans face today.
Chapter Two:
Blue:
The Broken Party vs. Bernie Sanders
The Democratic Party is shattered, defeated, damaged, and absolutely shell-shocked even an entire year later. Even though they won the popular vote, in this current voting system it’s not good enough if you can’t win Florida or Pennsylvania. Losing Michigan/Wisconsin was another surprise, as the Democrats had those two states for six elections in a row. Losing to the politically-inexperienced Trump remains unprecedented, it’s an incomparable defeat. Hillary Clinton is one of the most qualified candidates in the history of politics, but delivered such a clunky campaign performance that it cost her dearly. Combine that with Trump being the rock to her scissors, the rampant sexism behind her running, the media covering the e-mail scandal far more than necessary to make for a closer election race to boost ratings, and to an extent Russia, and you have a variety of elements contributing to her loss. I’m sure Hillary had to write that book because she needed to take several months off to figure out what in the hell went wrong.
Side-Note: 60+ million still voted for Donald Trump, and I’m pretty sure it would take more than ticky-tacky ads by secret Russian people to convince most to vote for him. I won’t give the Russian interference as much coverage because guess what, politics is a dirty game and the Democratic primaries also ran with questionable tactics.
Clinton had such an easy path built by Obama. Barack Obama became a trendsetting president, being the first Black president wasn’t enough, he had to be one of the most well-spoken, sympathetic, cleanest leaders in the history of the United States. There was a dignity that surrounded him that was so heavy the critics and anti-Obama peeps deemed it as arrogance. Whether or not you agreed with his policy, there’s no way you can claim he disrespected the opposition. Unlike the man we have as president, Obama accepted, embraced, and was prepared for the negativity and the vicious words that would be hurled against his presidency. His ability to reach out to voters of all races, ages, and beliefs remains quite a marvel. The economy was improving, the jobs report was improving, and America was shedding some of its rough skin from the murky 2000s that involved two unsuccessful unfinished wars and a ton of uncertainty following the dramatic economic crash.
This was supposed to be such an easy road. And then Hillary Clinton ran into something she never thought she would face: opposition.
Bernie Sanders rose out of the ashes and delivered the most unique campaign in modern political history. He never attacked Hillary, his crazed and dedicated fans did that work. He didn’t need massive donations from very successful people, his $27 idea was enough to draw millions in cash. He didn’t have to make as many political stops, the YouTube and Facebook clips were making him a rising legend. The more you read about him, the more you realized that he had campaigned for most of the things that weren’t politically or socially acceptable at the time. Fought for Civil Rights, fought for gay rights, battled for the middle class in the 90s, was against pretty much every military conflict, and remained under the radar in politics until he decided to make an effort to run for the main prize.
He was rocking the debates (drawing more enthusiastic support each time), selling out crowds, and embracing the criticism and imitation—leading to a hilarious SNL moment which featured him and his doppelganger Larry David. One of the funniest examples of him always being with the pulse of the Democrats despite not actually being one was when Hillary Clinton openly questioned where Bernie was while she campaigned for universal health care in the 90s---only for footage to pop up revealing that he was literally right behind her. There was great criticism behind Bernie Sanders joining the Democratic ticket despite being an independent for decades, but let’s be honest does a third-party candidate actually have a ghost of a chance in modern election society? Hell no. Bernie knew this, and would give it a shot, and had one of the most epic last-minute runs towards the White House we will ever see.
Even though Hillary won the Democratic ticket, it wasn’t without hordes of controversy. The DNC was met with clashes, protests, anger, and disappointment in the way things were handled from the start of the primaries to the finish. I don’t have to revisit this because we’ve seen this tale too many times before. I am revisiting this moment briefly because I assure you this is the moment Hillary’s chances of winning were starting to slip. E-mail leaks revealed that the Democrats were paving this road for Hillary and there was pretty much a heavy bias towards her, even if say a Bernie rose up and delivered a good campaign. Even though Sanders gave Clinton his full support and begged for his fans to do the same, the negative press was like candy for the Republicans. Lastly and probably the big mistake of the convention was the theming that America has become great already, that America has fully recovered, when we still had a long way to go—from the Wall Street corruption to Middle America reeling to Puerto Rico needing help and of course, Black Lives Matter still being a hot topic. The only one in the convention willing to point all these out and exclaim that there’s much work to do, was Bernie Sanders.
Ultimately, there were more Hillary-to-McCain voters in 2008 than there were Bernie-to-Hillary votes, but the negative press started on those fateful nights when the primaries ended. And that negativity festered even though Hillary Clinton won each debate against Trump, even though she spent much more money campaigning, even though she was clearly the better candidate, and battled illness and sexism and an awful media just trying to paint a close election. Hillary Clinton endured a lot, but her biggest mistake was never acknowledging Bernie Sanders and his fanbase and underestimating her requirement to keep her voters engaged and active. And even today, when she is supposed to be the voice of the Democrats as they prepare for a bloodbath in the 2018 elections, here she is writing a book blaming Bernie Sanders and the fans for her loss. Even if it’s slightly true, it’s definitely a bad look releasing a book while a country is reeling and trying to sift through the wreckage. Having the audacity to blame a political opponent seeking the same promised land of the presidency for the loss looks bad no matter what. Sanders takes the high road in avoiding that controversy, but don't worry, his fans will step up like they have been since 2015.
Bernie Sanders has emerged as the most popular candidate in politics today despite the early exit. He hasn’t dwelled on the past, unlike the DNC members starting to separate themselves from Hillary to stay away from the stink of losing a very winnable election. While the Democrats bicker and scramble, there’s Bernie out in Puerto Rico pleading for help. While the Democrats lick the wounds, there's Bernie questioning why the cabinet members with Trump are so inexperienced and unprepared. The Bernie Bros, as rampant and vicious as they might be, continue to prop up the legend that has engulfed the elderly Jewish man that has captured the hearts of the third-party and independent movement. And of course, Bernie Sanders continues to battle Trump and the Republican Party as they continue to dismantle everything Obama did 8 years prior in some sort of petty campaign. But can the Democrats really follow Sanders as their leader even though he technically still hasn’t committed to becoming a Dem?
Sanders has simultaneously launched a new generation of voters and active young politicians while giving the DNC an identity crisis. The Democrats rode everything on Hillary Clinton winning while underestimating her unpopularity among the independents and Republicans, and not exactly doing the necessary research to ensure victory. And baffling them even further is how if Sanders had gotten the ticket, he would have unquestionably wrecked Trump in the main election. So do we follow Hillary? Do we follow Sanders? Do we look for a new voice and risk losing again in 2020? This is something the Democrats have to figure out, and fast, even if the Republican Party is also falling apart. It is no coincidence that the approval rating of the Democrats is at its lowest in decades.
So no matter how bad Donald Trump and his men are at the White House, at this point not even a Hillary/Trump rematch could shift the tides. Bernie Sanders, despite his age and continuing disapproval and disappointment of the current Democrat conditions, is the top dog to fight Donald Trump in the next election. Whether he wants to run again, and whether he wants to even run as a Democrat after the lopsided race he experienced remains to be seen. He refuses to discuss 2020, refuses to discuss 2016, and wants to stick with the 2017-2018 program of stopping Trump at every turn. He is doing the noble thing, but at the same time 2020’s election needs to be planned starting from today. Otherwise, the next loss won’t be so shocking.
Hillary Clinton can’t run again. Bernie Sanders may not run again. So what the heck is the third option? And no, Michelle Obama is not that option.
To Be Continued:
Chapter Three, discussing the third-party option, pointless now, but doesn't always have to be this way....
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