Senator Bernie Sanders Ends Presidential Campaign
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced the end of his 2020 campaign for president in a call to staff this morning.
His candidacies in 2016 and 2020 effectively ended a decades long rightward shift in what was considered to be the political consensus in this country.
It was more than an effort to win the highest office in the land, the avowedly Democratic Socialist created a movement for change.
Sanders’ advocacy for environmental issues, increasing the social safety net, broader access to higher education, and promoting the interests of lower and middle income Americans moved once-heretical policies to the forefront of Democratic politics.
His grassroots style of campaigning, raising huge amounts of money from millions of small donors, will forever redefine the fundraising process. Other milestones included becoming the best-performing socialist contender in U.S. history, as well the strongest Jewish presidential candidate, and oldest candidate (78) to go so far in the process.
Large crowds and enthusiastic supporters in his 2016 campaign shocked mainstream political analysts, as the Vermont Senator won 23 primaries and caucuses. His 2020 campaign against a much bigger field of contenders got off to a good start with wins or near wins in early primaries.
The South Carolina primary at the end of January marked a turning point in the selection process. A winnowing of the field and calls for supporting former Vice President Joe Biden as the consensus candidate to take on Donald Trump led to disappointing results for Sanders on Super Tuesday. Biden won 10 of the 14 states that held primaries, including some where he had never campaigned or advertised.
Although Sanders delegate count was high enough to justify staying in the race, the coronavirus epidemic upended the political process. Critics pointed to weak support from Black voters and the campaign’s ineffectiveness in reaching out to constituencies critical to building his base of support.
The coronavirus epidemic limited the kind of retail person-to-person campaigning that could change the equation. Its fundraising operation was repurposed into a feeder for public health groups. And the issue-oriented debates within the party faded as the country watched an unfolding public health and political disaster unfold.
From CNN:
Now, as he did after leaving the 2016 primary, Sanders will seek to influence the presumptive nominee through the means he knows best -- from the outside.
Biden has already made gestures toward Sanders' populist base, which formed a movement over the past five years that could be critical to defeating Trump in the fall. Whether the former vice president will take the necessary steps to win over the holdouts, and the extent to which Sanders goes to make the case, will be a running subplot until Election Day.
The irony in this situation is that the COVID-19 crisis has all but destroyed the primary centrist argument against medicare for all, namely the desirability of employer based insurance.Millions of Americans have or are about to lose their healthcare coverage as the jobs enabling those benefits have evaporated.
https://twitter.com/markos/status/1247918114169163776?s=20
https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1247910318786908162?s=20
https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1247916516550553606?s=20
Although I’m sure we’ll see plenty of futile gestures from a few Sander’s most hardcore supporters over the coming days, the political void created by hundreds of thousands of sick people/tens of thousands fatalities, and the simply horrible behavior of Our Dear Leader, should tamp down the wave of nihlism many pundits will predict.
We’re in crisis mode for now; we can argue about other things a little later. My bet is that we’re looking at a six week (if you count early voting mail in states) political campaign this fall.
This will probably be Bernie Sanders last presidential campaign; now is the time for his activist supporters to decide whether it is the issues or the candidate they want to fight for.
Although Joe Biden certainly wasn’t my top choice as the Democratic candidate, I realize it’s the administration in power whose actions will shape our country come January, 2021. Forced to choose between an organization including Jared Kushner versus just about any Democrat who ran for dog catcher this year, the choice is obvious.
There are down ballot campaigns in cities and states around the country that could use some help, should some people decide they can’t Vote Blue No Matter Who for the top spot on the ticket.
Meanwhile, the looting in DC is just cranking up, as Trump is firing yet another bunch of Inspector Generals.
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