Senator Bernie Sanders turned out over 15,000 supporters at two events in San Diego County last weekend,
delivering two fiery speeches that have become the hallmark of his outsider presidential campaign.
The first event, held Saturday night at National City’s Kimball Park, had the vibe of a music festival more than a campaign rally. Supporters held signs, wore shirts with a variety of Sanders slogans, and cheered for him as he took the stage.
The crowd was a mixture of college students, adults, seniors, and even lots of parents with babies. At times the crowd chanted “Bernie, Bernie” leading up to the introduction of Sanders by surprise guest, comedian George Lopez.
Sunday’s event, also held outside but at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista, had a similar mix of crowd and the same enthusiasm level as the night before.
In both speeches, Sanders delivered his now customary criticisms of our economic system that, he stresses, has left too many people behind as corporate profits and CEO pay have vastly outpaced workers’ incomes.
Sanders promised to deliver healthcare to those that need it, education for all students, and to take action on comprehensive immigration reform by executive order if Congress fails to act on it. It was vintage Sanders.
The crowd’s enthusiasm was palpable and real. Senator Sanders reminded them that their vote is the only way to enact the changes he promises, and the only way to stop the dangerous policies promoted by Donald Trump.
Throughout the speeches, the most significant message delivered, albeit without words, was his tacit support of Hillary Clinton. Not in so many words, but Sanders’ decision not to criticize Clinton
did not go unnoticed.
With over 900 delegates still in play in the next four primaries, Clinton needs only to win 74 of them to clinch the Democratic nomination. Sanders would have to virtually shut Clinton out to win the nod. Even with a big win in California, it’s mathematically impossible for Sanders to win.
So what’s Bernie doing, and why is he still working to draw huge crowds?
Sanders set out in the campaign to start a revolution against the economic and political systems he sees as broken, yet inextricably connected. His campaign caught fire, and he has raised more money and garnered more votes than anyone expected, maybe even more than Sanders himself expected.
As a self-proclaimed socialist, Sanders is far to the left of Clinton, whose husband famously upset liberals by passing welfare reform in 1996 with then-Speaker Newt Gingrich. The far left of the Democratic Party has never forgiven the Clintons for that betrayal, as evidenced by the liberals’ full throated support of Hillary Clinton’s Democratic challenger in 2008, Barack Obama.
But now that the end of Sanders’ campaign seems only weeks away, his most valuable contribution could be his turn to embrace Clinton at the Convention in Philadelphia, and help keep voter enthusiasm up all the way to the November election to ensure the defeat of their common opponent, Donald Trump.
Hillary Clinton acknowledges she is not a good campaigner. She never has been. Her strengths lay in her vast policy experience and her temperament, two qualities Trump lacks in spades.
What Democrats will need this Fall to beat back Trump’s still surprising run will be a concerted effort by all segments of their party. Only united can Democrats win in November. Sanders could be the spark to keep the fire burning, or “Berning.”
Trump’s imminent nomination by a fractured Republican Party gives Democrats an opportunity to circle the wagons and secure a win. Many Republicans are disenchanted with the thought of Trump as their Party’s leader, but they also can’t bring themselves to vote for Clinton, so they may just sit this election out.
Past elections have shown that some Republicans would rather lose one election than elect a nominee that doesn’t uphold their core principles, as Evangelicals did with Romney in 2012. A short-term loss, in their view, is better than a long-term defeat.
As this wild, unpredictable primary season comes to its end, voters find themselves with two extremely polarizing options: Trump, the outsider, and Hillary Clinton, the ultimate insider. For most voters, it’s a Sophie’s choice, one between two equally unpalatable outcomes.
But for supporters of Bernie Sanders – mostly Democrats and Independents, with some Republicans too – that became energized by his fight against the big banks and corporate greed, his call for better access to education and health care, and his support of environmental causes and global warming action, the fight is not over.
Bernie Sanders has an opportunity to turn his quixotic campaign for the presidency into a more lasting movement that can help shape the outcome of this election, and thereby carry those issues forward into executive actions and possible future legislation.
Sanders may end up in a Clinton cabinet if she wins, or he may continue drawing thousands at rallies like he did here last week to fight for social change. But what Sanders should not do is lose and just walk away to become another footnote in presidential trivia, like Ross Perot in 1992.
Come the Democratic Convention in July, we will see if Bernie Sanders can become bigger than the rallies and slogans of his insurgent campaign, or simply fade out as a funny Larry David impression on Saturday Night Live.