Not to make anyone relive the horrors of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, but it is worth remembering as a test to see which Democrats deserve support, and which should be branded as disingenuous grifters who would step over a starving one-legged child drowning in a street puddle just so they could make it to Sunday brunch on time.
Hillary’s 2016 bid for the presidency was a flawed affair, one that has been discussed at nauseam by this point; but what I think stands out more than anything, and what the party is still grappling with, is the way in which the Clinton campaign was able to kneecap the grassroots passion of the Bernie Sanders campaign.
It is unfortunate how effective the party establishment was at shaming anyone who had the audacity to challenge the idea that Hillary be handed the nomination like a scepter bestowed to a queen ascending a throne. Make no mistake, I don’t believe Bernie Sanders had yet achieved enough national support to clutch the nomination in 2016 and that somehow the Democrats flat out robbed him of the nomination. That’s the story of 2020. (I type that last part with the slow furious punching of keys usually reserved for one’s seventh attempt at a long-forgotten Netflix login password).
What Hillary did that as a political party the Democrats must never return to, is try and counter real progressive policy issues like access to healthcare, education, and housing, by throwing around meaningless identity politics gobbledygook. She used the kind of rhetoric that only resonates with purple haired sociology majors, or people who just don’t want said purple haired sociology majors to be mean to them online.
The best example of this is when Hillary told a crowd of supporters:
“Not everything is about an economic theory, right? If we broke up the big banks tomorrow, and I will, if they deserve it, I will. Would that end racism? Would that end sexism? Would that end discrimination against the LGBT community? Would that make people feel more welcoming to immigrants overnight?”
Now on its face one should obviously fight to ensure that any group isn’t discriminated against based on who they are. However, at its core this kind of counter to a real policy driven agenda is a distraction that allows Democrats to promise nothing but progressive vibes without any substance. It’s the kind of thing that makes already well to do Democrats feel better about who holds elected office, but it does little to push back against the societal rot that has taken the country. Respecting a person’s pronouns is nice, but surely we can do that while at the same time making it easier for them to buy a house. Democrats and Republicans enjoy the easy battles around culture issues, because at the end of the day no matter who wins the plutocrats remain unaffected.
To anyone who hasn’t had their eyes filled with shards of glass Donald Trump obviously doesn’t care about working class economic issues. However, if one were to go to a construction site today and ask the people there who they voted for it’s a safe bet what they would answer. Democrats should always support the rights of all Americans without question, and fight back against legislation that targets marginalized groups, but at a certain point it becomes obvious they don’t care about the material wealth of the working class increasing if that means challenging monied interests. Moving forward, any Democrat who relentlessly moves the conversation away from how they will put money in the pockets of working Americans, or provide them with a service should not be trusted. Rainbow late-stage capitalism will never solve the issues that plague the country.
True populist support was there for the Democrats to tap into a decade ago. Instead of embracing it, they ensured the party would be filled to the brim with brunch goers and wine sippers who are culturally liberal, but who also have a vested interest that affordable housing bill dies a quick death to protect property values. Once the party of the working class, the Democrats gave ground to a reality TV game show host who more than likely has the softest hands on planet earth, because it was easier than standing up to corporate power. I am optimistic, Bernie Sanders and AOC are drawing large crowds, and for the most part sticking to real working-class issues or condemning executive overreach.
Democrats need to be a political party that welcomes various working class voices, and while outright hatred should be condemned, lets also exclude the finger wagging, and the purity tests, because at this point its either nominate an authentic human being who can generate some sort of popular support, or the Democrats can again choose the easy path by being a permanent minority party without power.
-McKenzie