Hillary Clinton speaking in Durham, NC
Last night’s New York Democratic Party primary was a defining moment in the sometimes nasty presidential nomination contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Clinton won a decisive victory, with a margin as of this writing of some 16 percent and a net gain of about 33 pledged delegates. [Note: these results are subject to updates]. Coming at a time when Sanders needs to win virtually every state left by a landslide, his loss to Clinton in New York turns his nomination chances from “nearly impossible” to “pretty much unimaginable.” Perhaps knowing this, Sanders spent yesterday in Pennsylvania instead of New York, supposedly to campaign for next Tuesday’s primaries, but then reportedly left his press corps in Pennsylvania last night and exited back home to Vermont. So the question becomes, what happens now?
Some pundits and Clinton supporters are calling for Sanders to end his campaign. Others are calling for “unity,” meaning that, even if Sanders stays in the race, he should shift his focus to uniting with Clinton against the Republicans and their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, who also had a big primary win last night in New York. However, Sanders and his campaign manager thus far adamantly say that they are staying in the race. Given that, we call for a de-escalation of tensions between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, so as not to aid the Republicans in the general election. Here’s roughly how such a de-escalation would work:
The Clinton side, including Hillary Clinton, her campaign and their supporters (with the stipulation that neither candidate controls his or her supporters but can at least call on them to act one way or another) must:
–Not gloat. Hillary herself was a good role model in her victory speech last night. She didn’t criticize Bernie Sanders at all. Instead, she said, to Sanders’ supporters, “there is much more that unites us than divides us.”
–Not snark. This means cutting down on the jokes about Sanders flying back to Vermont to find his tax returns (although, as long as Sanders stays in the race, the issue of his failure thus far to release multiple prior years of tax returns is a legitimate one), and the jokes about stalking Pope Francis.
The Sanders side must:
–Think about the exit strategy. Surely, Sanders and his team see the same cold hard math that everyone else sees. Sanders must consider leaving the campaign now. If that isn’t yet possible, Sanders at least needs to think about his ultimate face-saving exit strategy. Does he plan to unite with Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump and the Republicans? Will Sanders campaign with Clinton this summer and fall? In any event, Sanders must think about the coming general election, and act accordingly.
–Stop attacking Clinton’s character. It’s one thing to have spirited disagreements on issues, from gun safety laws to economic regulation to foreign policy. In the beginning of the Democratic primaries, it appeared that this was going to be the case. But since then, Sanders’ attacks on Clinton have been essentially that she is corrupt, and indeed “not qualified” to be president. Given that such attacks did not help Sanders (take a look at the Wyoming caucus and New York primary results), he has every reason now to tone them down.
–Stop attacking the Democratic Party. Sanders is running in the Democratic Party’s primaries. Yet he keeps attacking and has even sued the Party. The Sanders campaign looks increasingly like a third party campaign, like that of Ralph Nader in 2000, which is being run from inside the Democratic Party. At the same time, Sanders and his senior campaign staff say that they want to go after the hundreds of so-called “superdelegates,” most of whom are Democratic Party elected officials and dignitaries, who have endorsed Hillary Clinton. Again, if that is the goal, it is counterproductive to attack the Democratic Party to which these loyalists belong. Thus, Sanders should see the incentive in stopping these attacks.
Hopefully, Bernie Sanders did some serious reflecting last night. Whether he shows a willingness, starting today, to de-escalate the tensions along with Hillary Clinton in their respective campaigns will have a major effect on Sanders’ status as a U.S. Senator, his influence as a progressive leader, and his legacy.
Photo by Nathania Johnson, used under Creative Commons license. http://is.gd/NDVe3d
