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Sanders' endorsement of Joe Biden gave him what Hillary never had to unify the party--plenty of time
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/492578-biden-gains-advantage-over-clinton-time-to-unify-partyBy Amie Parnes - 04/14/20 06:00 AM EDT
IMHO: Biden is a unifier that has put together a broad coalition. His personal style in dealing with opponents and friends and colleagues gives him the winning edge. I am still amazed at how he brought together nearly all his primary opponents on stage in Michigan and Texas to small the early primaries. Unbelievable and unprecedented. And no his most ardent support--a friend==has sealed the deal on Democratic unity. Forget the rabid extremists. The good folks who supported Bernie will support Biden. The freak show opponents can fester and while but they speak to a narrow fringe that never really materialized when the votes came in. Those who did vote for Bernie==God bless them==are mostly people who are concerned about the future of our nation, its policies, and stand for the continued progress ov our nation. Biden will lead the way and Bernie will have his back as do virtually all of the other candidates (c'mon Warren and Castro!).
snips//
Democrats have fretted since their race began with two dozen candidates that they would have a hard time unifying around a single nominee, and that a divisive primary would hurt their eventual standard-bearer.
Their nightmare since the beginning of the race has been that a splintered Democratic Party would end up costing them another election to President Trump.
But the endorsement by Sanders — who made a surprise appearance on Biden’s livecast Monday afternoon — cleared the way for the former vice president to begin bringing the party together. And it happened in the middle of April.
“2020 will be more unifying than 2016 because of time being given to Vice President Biden to consolidate the party,” said Michael Trujillo, the Democratic strategist who worked on Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
The moment helped calm the nerves of jittery Democrats, who have been having déjà vu when it comes to Sanders, a Democratic Socialist from Vermont who caucuses with Senate Democrats but has an ‘I’ next to his name and state.
“We need you in the White House and I will do all that I can to see that that happens, Joe,” Sanders said during the appearance.
It took Sanders just five days to endorse Biden after he announced the suspension of his campaign last week.
Some Democrats were quick to point out that Sanders didn’t officially endorse Clinton until July 12 — 36 days after he suspended his campaign.
“Democrats learned a vital lesson from the 2016 election: If you don't unite, you lose,” said former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), who also led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
***
Philippe Reines, who served as a longtime adviser to Clinton, said “there’s a lot more work to do and he has to put his money where his mouth is.”
“He needs to drop the hammer on any supporter — especially those associated with his campaign — who regurgitates Right Wing attacks on Biden,” Reines said. “That’s still happening so he needs to go medieval on anyone who does so, every time, without fail. The fish supports from the head as much as rots from the head.”
Still, while Biden has the advantage of time, political observers say the coronavirus pandemic is almost certain to throw another obstacle into the mix.
“After all the hoopla, he solidified his hold on the primary earlier than Clinton and has a party more unified because of a disliked incumbent. All of that is true,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. “But — and a big but— this is an election unlike any other.
Zelizer said Biden won’t be able to do traditional campaigning that helps promote candidates including rallies, town halls and extensive media interviews.
“The election itself will have less coverage than usual because of the pandemic, and it’s possible this is an extremely low turnout election because of social distancing,” he said. “So even though on paper he is in great shape, the nature of this campaign presents immense challenges.”
I know Joe, We know Joe, but most importantly Joe knows us.
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My fingers are like clubs on the keyboard tonight.
