Will McCarthyism - Gene, not Joe - hurt Sanders?
In the presidential campaign of 1980, Eugene McCarthy campaigned for Ronald Reagan. When he came to my college, I went to his little circus act and asked him a question. His reason for supporting Reagan, he said, was because Jimmy Carter had "personalized" the presidency, as exemplified by forcing US athletes to skip the Moscow Olympics. I asked him the obvious question, if he could provide other reasons we should vote for Reagan, and he could not, or would not. He stuck to his talking point, which was all he had, or all he would admit.
Of course, a prominent Democrat does not campaign for a Republican on the basis of "personalizing the presidency." That's ridiculous on it's face. We all knew there was something else going on, some deep and passionate hatred McCarthy harbored for Carter. But McCarthy would admit to nothing, although some of the media people pressed him for the real reason. It was almost surreal.
OK, flash forward 36 years. How much hatred will some Democrats have for Bernie Sanders, and will it cause them to campaign against him? Whatever Carter did to McCarthy has to be minor in comparison to what Sanders is doing to the party regulars. They had it all planned out, and it was supposed to be all over by now, with Clinton assured a clear path to the White House against a motley collection of disorganized Republicans. It was going to be a glorious victory, until Sanders threw a wrench in the machinery. There are a bunch of cheesed off Democrats, and I bet they are way more pissed than McCarthy was. So how does this play out when Sanders is the nominee?
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