Doing the Necessary
by Deacon Blues
After watching the debacle at the Nevada Democratic Party event over the weekend, the lack of a strong response from Bernie Sanders to the behavior of his supporters, his and his campaign’s continuing rhetoric against both Hillary Clinton and an allegedly “corrupt” Democratic National Committee, it is easy for me to give the middle finger to Sanders and his supporters. But it is also easy for me to give the middle finger to all of America for even considering voting for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, if a new (God help us) Fox News poll is to be believed. I would lose my faith in both America and our current electoral and media institutions should this come to pass this November.
Having said all of that, Hillary finds herself flailing about in her efforts to fight a two-front war against both Sanders and Trump. She can moan all she wants that Trump isn’t qualified, and the respectable parts of the media can make that case as well. But the simple truth is that the right wing media has poisoned the American electorate so much that large parts of them would actually act upon their hatred for both government and Hillary by voting for a reality TV show host. That is less a commentary on the flawed Hillary than it is a sad commentary on what Sanders, Trump, and the media have done leading up to this choice in November. It’s Hillary’s job, and yes obligation to deal with the facts on the ground and work with them, and not seek an ideal that isn’t achievable anymore, if it ever was.
No matter the disgust I’ve increasingly felt for Sanders and his supporters over their tactics and rhetoric, and no matter what I think of their alleged commitment to the Democratic Party and apparent willingness to damage it for their own purposes, the truth is that Hillary needs to unite the party now to save the country from Trump. She cannot afford to have the party face internal fissures and a hostile force from within willing to sink it for their own ends later. We can debate later Sanders’ rise and the true agenda and source of his supporters, but what needs to happen now is for Hillary to explore having Sanders be her running mate, and have him either accept it or decline it. Yes, if this were a different electoral cycle, there would be better running mate choices and better qualified people to be her partner, but for many reasons this isn’t and won’t be such an electoral cycle.
She needs to be able to say “we are offering a united Democratic Party and a Congress willing to work on solving the real problems that face the country, and the world. If you are still so angry with government and against me that you would vote for a reality TV host to be Commander in Chief, that is your decision and your responsibility.”