Sanders v. Clinton and Their Supporters
I'm a political junkie and have been for most of my 63 years. I have been observing and occasionally posting here on DU. Like many here I am appalled at the vitriol exchanged by both Sanders and Clinton supporters. Sometimes I wish we would have adopted Reagan's 11 Commandment that "No Democrat will speak ill of another Democrat."
But there are reasons why we arrived at this unfortunate crossroads. But more on that later.
Let me first say that I am a Bernie Sanders supporter. I honestly believe that he may be the last best hope that we have as a country. Having said that, if Bernie does not get the nomination, I would be proud to cast my vote for Hillary Clinton. In many ways, most would have to agree (at least on paper) she is the most qualified candidate we have seen in decades. Other than our President, Hillary has had to weather some of the most vicious attacks from the Right that few others have had to deal with. All the time, she has carried the Democratic banner high, never bowing her head. There is very little (at least to me) to be ashamed of when comes to Hillary. She has fought the good fight and ALL Democrats should be proud of her.
There would be only one scenario that could threaten her rise to the highest office...and wouldn't you know it, it happened to her twice.
That threat is "Progressivism."
Notice that in my praise of Clinton, I did not mention that she carried the "progressive" banner high. There are some that will disagree with me. However, I do not, nor did I ever consider Hillary to be a progressive. I've always considered her to be a solid Democrat that would move our collective agenda forward. But never did ever consider her political philosophy to be Progressive.
As I stated, I believe that it is progressivism that derailed her first Presidential run and I believe that it is progressivism that is threatening her second run. Her own self-destructive and sometimes baffling campaign moves have certainly not helped. I have a feeling that Hillary Clinton is a far better politician than she is a campaigner. There have been too many missteps in both of her presidential runs that makes one wonder if she is not her own worst enemy. But I digress...
There are some here that will deny the fact that Barrack Obama ran as a progressive. They claim that they could see right through him...that he was never a progressive. I disagree. I don't disagree that he is not a progressive. I merely believe that he ran as a progressive. What happened to him after getting into office is anyone's guess. Maybe he was naive or was simply never a progressive...there is evidence of both. Of course now, it really doesn't matter. What does matter and is an important part of my position is that Barrack Obama ran as a Progressive. Why else would you promise to reign in Wall Street (the hub of the Progressive agenda)? Of course, he didn't reign in Wall Street but instead appointed Wall Street kingpins to run the economy. Not Progressive. There are a variety of other progressive promises that were broken. But we will leave that to history.
The point here is that running as a Progressive, President Obama was able to amass a huge following and eventually got the keys to the White House.
In the meantime, Occupy Wall Street happened as well as the Tea Party.
In 2015 and now in 2016, we see the rise of another Progressive, Bernie Sanders. One could say that Bernie learned a lot from watching Barrack Obama. However, the fact that he has always been a Progressive is closer to the truth. I could go over all of the Progressive bullet points of a Bernie Sanders campaign, but you already know them.
The point here is that, as far as I'm concerned Progressivism has been just under the surface of the American electorate for years...just waiting for the right messenger. Barrack Obama got close, the Occupy Movement was another sign and finally there is Bernie.
Bernie Sanders supporters can be rabid and cruel. I have read things from some of my fellow Bernie supporters that I've never heard a Right Wing Hillary haters state. This is more than unfortunate, it is wrong.
But let me explain (at least in part) why I think some Bernie supporters can take the low road when it comes to attacking Hillary Clinton.
I am 63 years old. Over the past few decades I have gone from being a Democrat to a Liberal and now I'm considered Progressive. All I knew over the years was that I considered myself to be an FDR Democrat. Some would say that I was more like a Liberal. Okay, so I became a Liberal. But then people like Rush Limbaugh (and others) convinced the public that Liberal was a BAD thing. It's only been in the past year that I've learned that no....I'm not a Democrat...nor am I a Liberal...but that in fact I am a Progressive. It seems to me that this linguistic evolution means nothing. The truth is that the one thing in common among Democrats and Liberals is Progressive. It was only the shift to the Right over the past thirty years that made any real difference in the terminology.
I have been waiting a very, very long time for an FDR Democrat to come along (exchange FDR Democrat with Progressive) and I see this person in Bernie Sanders. Over the years as the Democratic Party turned Right many of us remained on the "original path" or even turned Left. I wasn't the one who left the Democratic Party...the Democratic Party left me. And I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that I would see the likes of MY kind of Democrat in my lifetime. Apparently I wasn't alone in my joy and amazement as 3.5 million donors have given an average of $27 to the Bernie campaign. Not only did the Democratic Party come full circle, but I wasn't alone...not by a long-shot.
So, what are we to do in light of this miracle represented by Bernie Sanders. We can only do one thing...we hang on with everything we have. After so many years of waiting, nearly convinced that my political philosophy had long passed, I have a chance...this country has a chance. The long wait can make our passion over-ride our reason...we cannot back down or give one inch, not now when this opportunity has presented itself.
We have a choice. Hillary is a fine Democrat that will move the ball forward for the next Democrat. We may take three steps forward and two steps back...but we WILL move forward. She wants to achieve parts of the Progressive agenda in increments. A Progressive agenda I might add that she has only recently embraced. Then we have Bernie Sanders who wants to fire all of his guns at once...accomplish the Progressive agenda in one fell swoop.
There are those that would argue that trying to pull off everything that Bernie wants to pull off is a recipe for failure. They may actually have a good argument. It is a risk. But America has never been afraid of risk. We have never been afraid to move all of our chips to the middle of the table. That is who we are. I would rather see Bernie try and fail then never try at all.
I will fight for Bernie Sanders with everything I have because he represents what this country might have become had Bobby Kennedy not been assassinated. He represents a risk...a gamble. And even upon failure, the genie will never be put back into the bottle. It's too late. At some point in the future, we will realize the dreams of a Bernie Sanders and millions of others who envision a country of compassion and reason. Don't ask me to let go of it...not now. Not now that it has come home to me.
As Robert Kennedy once said:
"Some see things as they are and ask why?" I dream things that never were and ask why not?"
-Paige
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