Sanders candidacy benefits Clinton and the future of the Democratic Party

[GreatGazoo]

As clarified by WH Press Secretary Josh Earnest, what Obama said to Democratic donors the other day was:

...as Democrats move through this competitive primary process, we need to be mindful that our success in November in electing a Democratic president will depend on the commitment and ability of the Democratic Party to come together behind our nominee”

So 2 things are missing there -- any mention of HRC, and any direction for the Sanders campaign.

Obama's legacy will be shaped in part by who his successor is. Sanders would take thigns further to the Left and build on Obama's progress. HRC is going to allow lobbyists back into the WH and likely slow the incremental changes but at least she keeps the Presidency in Democratic hands and can hopefully block rollbacks of what Obama has achieved.

The Benefits of Sanders Campaign for HRC and the future of the Democratic Party

The Clintons and the future of the Democratic party benefit from having Sanders get, and keep, more people, different groups of people, engaged in this GE in a way that HRC has been unable to so far.

One example: New York is a closed primary and Sanders supporters are out registering or re-registering people right now. We will be registering people right to the deadline -- March 25. Millenials are breaking strongly for Sanders which means many of them would not be registering at all if Sanders was not in this thing and actively out registering them. The same is true in terms of raising general interest.

The corollary of the media blackout is that Sanders is pioneering the emerging techniques for organizing and GOTV via non-MSM such as social media and peer-to-peer information networks. The DNC is going to need that base and those techniques going forward but if Clinton can win without them (eg, with only the MSM and their audiences) then her campaign won't be the one developing the base and the campaign techniques needed for 2018 and beyond.

The Democratic Party on a national level will not rebuild and dig out of the gerrymandering hole it's in by excluding or extinguishing the emerging base and the new media techniques that are at the heart of Sanders' success.

With almost no TV or radio coverage Sanders has received almost as many votes (popular vote) as Donald Trump. Free TV time for Trump is now around $1 billion in value so what is the value of whatever is working for Sanders ? Likely Obama understands this well. He is a brilliant and innovative person and many of the techniques that served him well such as social media, are now being leveraged and advanced by the Sanders campaign.

[djean111]

1. Almost did not click; thought it would be more bullshit about Hillary moving left.

I do not think the millennials will turn out for Hillary. They want change.

[beachbum bob]

2. my my....if trump gets elected because millenials stay home they will see change alright....

and its change they WILL NOT like at all, just saying.....we saw what happened in 2008 with same mindset of Nader supporters....they gave america change with letting bush/cheney get elected....nader supporters were responsible more than any other group...

[GreatGazoo]

3. It has been 8 years since we had a primary on the Dem side

If Clinton isn't connecting with younger and bringing in new ones then without Sanders we could miss out on bringing this next wave into the Party.

[djean111]

4. What I think is happening, and will happen, is - and this will be messy - a lot of the younger

people will completely reject the idea of monolithic and fuck you, shut up and vote parties.

The GOP and the Democrats have gotten so filled with corporate money-laden warmongers that they really have started to become nothing more than money machines, just fronts for the oligarchs and neocons and Third Way types who really run things. A wheel or two may come off. I cannot watch how Debbie Wassermann-Schultz operates - with impunity - down here in Florida, without feeling like the Democratic Party i joined so many years ago is not now hopelessly compromised.